It's Always There
by CoffeeDrinker
Summary: This is a 2nd sequel to "It's Right There" that picks up a few weeks after the ending of "It's Still There." Lorelai and Luke navigate the ups and downs of domestic life as they raise their fresh kid. :)
1. Chapter 1

**It's Always There**

 **Author's Note:** This story is the third in a trilogy, following _It's Right There_ and _It's Still There_. For anyone who hasn't read the two previous stories (or needs a refresher), you can scroll down to the end of this chapter for a quick recap.

This story opens on Halloween 2003, which is a few weeks after the ending of _It's Still There_.

. . . . .

 **Chapter 1**

. . . . .

Lorelai walked into the nursery and glanced around the room. "Where did you put it?" she called. "I don't see it."

"I think I stuck it in the closet," Luke called back.

Lorelai walked over to the closet and pulled open the door. "Aha! There you are." She reached for the plastic pumpkin bucket sitting on the top shelf as she called, "Got it!"

Lorelai returned to the master bedroom, swinging the pumpkin back and forth on her finger by the handle. "I found your pumpkin, little boy," she announced to Joshua, who was lying on the bed as Luke buttoned up his outfit. "Now you can collect lots of candy, are you excited?"

Luke observed the baby for a moment, then looked over at Lorelai. "He doesn't seem affected by that news in the least."

Lorelai set the pumpkin down on the bed. "Well, good. The longer he stays oblivious to this whole annual candy collection process, the longer I can claim full access to the end results."

"I have a feeling that you'll still claim full access to it even when he does become aware of the process."

Lorelai scoffed. "Well, duh. What kind of parents would we be letting our kid rot his teeth on sugar and junk? It's up to us to protect him from a lifetime of dental issues by eating all of his candy."

"Of course." Luke picked up Joshua from the bed. "Okay, he's ready to play ball."

Lorelai grinned and leaned in close to the baby. "Aw, you look so handsome," she cooed before kissing him on the cheek.

It was Josh's first Halloween, and Lorelai and Luke were taking him trick or treating in Stars Hollow before heading to Hartford for Friday night dinner. Lorelai had found a baseball player uniform while out shopping, complete with a stuffed bat and ball, and knew it would probably be one of the few costumes she could come home with that Luke would be excited about. And she was right, he loved it.

"You know, I should have looked in the adult section for a matching one for you," Lorelai said to Luke. "I love a man in uniform."

Luke held the baby out toward her. "You've got one right here."

Lorelai gasped happily as she took the baby from Luke. "Yes, I do. I do have a handsome man in uniform, don't I?"

"You ready to go?" Luke asked.

"Yup. Grab the pumpkin."

It was unusually warm for October and they didn't need jackets, though Lorelai tucked the baby's into the bottom of the stroller just in case. They started trick or treating through the neighborhood as they made their way toward the town square. They spent a few minutes at most of the houses chatting with neighbors, and Luke had to keep reminding Lorelai that they had a schedule to stick to.

As they walked through the town square on their way toward Sookie's house, they stopped to have their picture taken in front of the gazebo, festively decorated with orange twinkle lights, jack-o-lanterns, and fake cobwebs.

When they arrived at Sookie's, Luke lifted Joshua out of the stroller and they walked up to the porch. Lorelai rang the bell, and when Jackson answered the door, he immediately invited them into the house.

He led them to the living room where Sookie was on the couch. "Sookie, you have special visitors," Jackson announced.

Sookie smiled when she saw them and slowly stood up to greet them. "Hey, guys!" she said cheerfully.

Lorelai hugged her and then gently rubbed Sookie's belly. "Happy Due Date! How are you feeling?"

"I'm good. I'm just lying around waiting for something to happen," Sookie replied, and then exchanged a hug with Luke before reaching for Joshua. "Let me see this little guy."

Luke hesitated for a moment. "Are you sure? He's getting heavier, and you're... you know..." He glanced down at her stomach. "... _really_ pregnant. I don't want you to hurt yourself."

"I can handle it," Sookie assured him, and Luke handed the baby to her. "Look at this cute little ball player," she cooed to the baby, and then looked at Lorelai. "It looks strange to see a Danes boy wearing his hat the right way."

Lorelai smiled and ran her finger over the baby's tiny baseball cap. "I'm sure his Daddy will have it turned around by the end of the night."

The doorbell rang again, and Jackson went to tend to the trick or treaters. Lorelai and Sookie sat down on the couch, and Luke sat down in an armchair.

"So, what's going on?" Lorelai asked Sookie. "No signs of labor yet?"

Sookie shook her head. "Nope, nothing." She patted her stomach. "This little guy apparently didn't want to share his birthday with Halloween."

"Doesn't he know how great that would be?" Lorelai asked. "Free candy on your birthday for life!"

Sookie shrugged with confusion. "I tried to explain it to him, but he's not listening." She shifted Joshua in her lap as she said to him, "Maybe you can try talking to him, huh? Get your friend to come out... tell him how much fun you've been having outside of the womb."

Joshua gurgled as he distractedly glanced around at his surroundings.

"Odds are probably high that he inherited my persuasiveness, but he hasn't really showcased it vocally yet," Lorelai said apologetically.

"He's working on it," Luke added.

Sookie smiled and passed the baby to Lorelai as Jackson returned to the living room. "So, did you hang your caramel apples this year?"

Lorelai frowned and shook her head. "No, we didn't. This year, we're one of those houses that leaves a bowl of candy on the porch so trick or treaters won't get mad at us for not being home and come back later to throw eggs at our house."

"The more proactive ones carry the eggs with them while trick or treating so they don't have to make a return trip," Jackson said.

"That makes more sense," Luke said. "That's how I would do it."

Sookie shook her head slightly at the men, then looked at Lorelai. "Oh, your parents are finally back from Europe, right? Is that where you're going?"

"Yeah, Rory's meeting us at their house tonight for Friday night dinner," Lorelai replied.

Luke glanced down at his watch. "Speaking of which, it's almost six."

"Okay, we should probably start walking home," Lorelai said, and she stood up with Joshua. "Sorry to cut the visit short, Sook, but call me if anything happens... there are still a few hours left on his due date."

"I wouldn't hold your breath for any action tonight, but we'll call if there is," Sookie promised.

They left the house and walked home, stopping briefly at the diner to grab a cup of coffee. They drove to Hartford and arrived a little before seven, noticing that Rory's car wasn't there yet. Lorelai grabbed the diaper bag, Luke grabbed the carseat, and they walked up to the front door.

Emily answered the door, and the maid was standing beside her holding the bowl of Halloween candy. "Hello, hello," Emily greeted them, smiling.

"Hey, Mom," Lorelai replied. "Welcome back. How was your trip?"

"Oh, it was wonderful. Your father and I had a lovely time." She stepped aside and they walked into the house. As Emily shut the door behind them, she said, "Let me see that handsome boy's outift."

"Okay. Luke, show her what you're wearing," Lorelai told him.

Emily and Luke both rolled their eyes. Luke set the carseat on the floor, and Lorelai unbuckled the baby and lifted him out.

"Here he is, our little ballplayer," Lorelai announced, turning him in her arms to face Emily.

"Oh, that's just darling," Emily gushed. "Look at that little hat." She reached for the baby and Lorelai passed him to her. "He looks so much bigger after just a few weeks."

"Yeah, babies grow faster than I remembered," Lorelai said. The maid had set the bowl of candy on the hall table, and Lorelai started rummaging through it. "Hm, full size bars, nice."

"Those are for the trick or treaters, Lorelai," Emily admonished her.

Lorelai gestured toward the baby. "I brought one, he just can't say trick or treat yet." She grabbed a Snickers bar from the bowl and held it up. "Are you really going to deprive him of his deserved treat just because he can't speak?"

Emily exhaled a sigh. "Fine." She started walking to the living room, and Luke and Lorelai followed behind her. As they sat down on one of the loveseats, Emily sat on the other with the baby.

"Where's Dad?" Lorelai asked.

"He's finishing up something for work," Emily replied. "And Rory called to say she was running a few minutes late. Apparently there's a Halloween parade causing a traffic issue in New Haven."

"Oh, okay, I was wondering where she was," Lorelai said as she tore open the Snickers bar.

Emily cocked her head to the side. "Really, Lorelai? Before dinner?"

Lorelai frowned. "I'm starving and it's Halloween... you're allowed to eat candy at any point in the day today." She gestured toward the baby. "Focus on Josh, that'll distract you."

Emily glanced down at the baby. Lorelai broke off a piece of the candy bar and offered some to Luke, who politely shook his head. Lorelai popped the piece of candy into her mouth, and then tucked the rest of the bar into her purse beside her.

Emily suddenly looked over at them. "Oh, goodness, I didn't offer you drinks. Where are my manners? Here, let me give him back to you."

As Emily stood up from the couch, Luke quickly stood up himself. "No, you sit, Emily. I can get the drinks," he offered.

"Oh, no, I couldn't let you do that," Emily said.

"Sure you can, Mom," Lorelai said. "I mean, you have a guest eating a chocolate bar before dinner, so the night's already gone to hell. You might as well let all traditional protocols fly out the window at this point."

"I certainly will not," Emily said firmly. She walked over and handed the baby to Luke, who sat back down next to Lorelai.

They gave Emily their drink requests and she walked over to the drink cart. While she was there, the doorbell rang, and she called, "Giada, get the door please!"

They could hear the chorus of 'trick or treat' as the maid answered the door. Emily fixed their drinks and brought them to Luke and Lorelai, then went to check on dinner and to retrieve Richard from his study.

Lorelai took a sip of her drink, and then set it on the coffee table as she pulled the candy bar back out of her purse. She ate another piece, then put the bar away before reaching over to wipe some spittle from the baby's chin. "He's gonna be hungry soon."

Luke nodded in agreement as he sipped his drink. "And then he'll probably pass out."

The house phone rang and stopped after a few rings, and then the doorbell rang again.

"Geez, it's like a circus around here tonight," Lorelai commented.

They heard the maid open the front door, and then a few seconds later, Rory walked into the living room. "Hey, guys. Happy Halloween."

Lorelai smiled as she turned to look at her. "Hey, kid."

"Hey, Rory," Luke said.

Lorelai stood up to hug her daughter, and then Rory leaned down to greet Joshua. "Aw, look at that cute little baseball player," Rory said.

"Now, don't get confused... it's actually just a very realistic costume," Lorelai said as she sat back down next to Luke. "He isn't actually in the real NBA or anything."

"That's basketball," Luke said with an amused smirk. "But good job referencing an actual sports league."

"Thank you."

"Well, he looks really cute," Rory said.

"I know, he's really nailing this 'adorable baby' thing perfectly," Lorelai said, and she gestured to the chair next to the couch. "Sit down."

"Where's Grandma and Grandpa?" Rory asked as she sat in the chair.

"Well, we haven't seen your grandfather tonight yet, and Mom disappeared a few minutes ago," Lorelai replied, and then she suddenly gasped. "Ooh, maybe for Halloween, they arranged some sort of murder mystery dinner where they both disappear and we have to find out what happened to them."

"Yeah, that sounds just like them," Rory said dryly, and Luke chuckled.

They heard footsteps coming swiftly down the hall, and they all glanced toward the doorway of the room. Emily appeared, clearly annoyed at something, and announced, "Well, this evening is officially a disaster."

"Why, what happened?" Lorelai asked. "Is this because I ate a Snickers bar?"

"We just got a call from Marta Locksley from down the street," Emily said.

"Ooh, is she a descendant of Robin of Locksley?" Lorelai asked.

Emily ignored her and continued, "And she told us that the Richmonds who just moved in a few months ago are giving out king size candy bars." She huffed out a sigh. "Can you believe the nerve?"

Lorelai narrowed her eyes with confusion. "So are you."

"No, we are giving out full size," Emily corrected her. " _Full_ _size_. That's what the neighborhood agreed upon, and now here come these new neighbors handing out king size candy bars, making us all look cheap."

Lorelai gasped and clutched her hand to her chest. "Oh, the horror!"

As Luke stifled a laugh beside her, Emily shook her head disappointedly. "This is not funny, Lorelai. This is a blatant disregard for the rules of the community. Richard's on the phone right now contacting some other neighbors."

"How long before the Richmonds are run out of the 'hood for their horrendous actions?" Lorelai asked.

"Hopefully by Christmas," Emily replied, and then her eyes widened when she saw Rory. "Rory, hello... did you just get here?"

"Hey, Grandma," Rory replied. "Yeah, just a few minutes ago. Sorry about the candy bar issue."

"Thank you," Emily replied. "We'll get through it, even if we have to play dirty."

"It's the Gilmore way," Lorelai remarked.

"How was your trip?" Rory asked Emily.

"Oh, just wonderful," Emily replied as she sat down on the sofa. "We'll tell you all about it, and I want you to tell us all about school once your grandfather joins us."

"Okay."

Joshua started fussing in Luke's arms, and Lorelai looked over at him. "Oh, looks like he's getting upset about the candy bar fiasco," she said.

"Is he okay?" Rory asked.

"Yeah, he's just getting hungry," Luke replied, shifting the baby in his arms.

"I'm on it," Lorelai said, standing up. She grabbed the diaper bag and went to the kitchen to make his bottle.

While she was gone, Richard finally emerged from his study and joined everyone in the living room, and Rory started filling them in on the goings on at Yale.

When Lorelai returned with the bottle, she walked over to Luke and gestured for him to stand up. "Come on. The fit that Mom threw the last time we were here when she thought she saw a drop of formula on the couch has officially turned this into a no-feeding room."

"Well, they're very expensive couches, Lorelai," Emily said.

"I know, Mother, I get it," Lorelai said. "We'll take him up to the nursery. It's fine."

"Oh, Emily, they can at least feed him in the front room," Richard said. "Hardly anyone uses that furniture anyway."

"They're antiques," Emily reminded him.

"It's okay, Dad, the gliders in the nursery are really comfortable," Lorelai said. "We'll be down in a little while."

Luke and Lorelai went upstairs to the nursery, and Luke settled into one of the gliders and started feeding the baby. Lorelai sat in the other glider and started rocking a little. "They _really_ are comfortable," she remarked.

"They are," Luke agreed, and then he nodded toward the door. "You can go back down if you want. You barely got to talk to Rory."

"It's not fair for you to be up here all by yourself with no one to talk to," Lorelai said.

"Trust me, I really don't mind," he assured her. "I'd rather you be down there with her in case they start hammering her with questions and she needs you to divert the conversation to something else."

Lorelai smiled. "You're looking out for her."

"I try."

Lorelai stood up from the chair, brushed her finger gently across the baby's cheek, and then leaned down to kiss Luke. "Call me if you need me," she said.

"Okay."

Lorelai returned downstairs to the living room where Rory was talking to Emily and Richard about the Yale Daily News. Lorelai settled back down on the couch and picked up her drink from the coffee table.

"Mom, I was just telling Grandma and Grandpa about my next writing assignment," Rory said. "A new ballet is opening at Yale next week, and I have to go see it and then write a review."

"Cool," Lorelai said. "So, I guess you don't have to have actual ballet knowledge to review a ballet?"

Rory smiled and shrugged. "I guess not... I'll wing it, just like the lacrosse article."

"You winged the hell out of that one," Lorelai said. "It was pretty amazing."

"Yes, it was," Richard agreed. "I have no doubt you can handle any assignment they throw your way."

Rory shrugged humbly. "Well, thanks. I'm just gonna keep doing my best and hope that my editor likes my work. He's nice, but he can be hard to please."

"Oh, I'm sure he already sees your talent," Emily said.

"Definitely," Richard agreed, and then he turned toward Lorelai. "Now, Lorelai, what's new with you? You've been back at work for a few weeks now, right? How's that been working out?"

"Pretty good," Lorelai replied. "Mia was really accommodating with letting me make up my own part-time schedule. Michel fills in for me when I'm not there, and he got a little bump in pay to make up for the extra coverage, so that keeps him from complaining about it."

"What _is_ your schedule?" Emily asked.

"It fluctuates. I usually go in for a few hours in the morning each day, but it depends on what's going on. If there's an event or meeting at the inn in the afternoon that I want to be there for, I'll switch it up a little. Same thing on the weekends - if something important is going on, I'll make it a point to be there on site."

"And who's looking after the baby while you're at work?" Richard asked.

"Well, it's a tag-team effort right now," Lorelai replied. "Stars Hollow doesn't have a daycare, so we signed him up for one in the next town, but they don't have an opening until January."

"I've never been very big on the concept of daycare centers," Emily said. "Not a lot of one-on-one time for the children when they're all grouped together like that."

"It'll only be for a few hours a day," Lorelai said. "For now, our friend Maisie watches him three mornings a week, and Mrs. Cassini from town watches him the other two mornings."

Emily narrowed her eyes. "Mrs. Cassini? Does she not have a first name?"

Lorelai wrinkled her nose a little. "Yeah, but I feel weird calling her by it. I've always just called her Mrs. Cassini."

Rory nodded. "Yeah, everyone in town calls her that."

"Anyway," Lorelai continued. "They both agreed to help out until daycare starts, and we have a couple people on call in case one of them can't make it. Plus, they come to the house so we don't have to rush to get him ready to go out in the morning."

"Oh, well, that's very convenient," Richard said.

"Yeah, it's been great," Lorelai said. "And I love working part-time... I get to spend a lot of time with the little dude and still be involved with stuff at work. It's perfect."

"You mentioned quite some time ago that Luke's been working less, too, right?" Richard asked. "I believe you said he tries to be at home on nights and weekends as much as he can?"

Lorelai gave Rory a confused look before she replied, "Uh, yeah... why?"

"Well, that must mean he's had to hire some more help at the diner," Richard said. "Which means he's probably taking home less income."

"Where are you going with this, Dad?" Lorelai asked.

"Well, he's working less, and you're working less, and I can imagine with the costs of a new baby and the daycare and Rory in Yale, you must be experiencing quite an uptick in your annual expenses," Richard said. "This drop in both of your incomes won't be too detrimental in the long run, will it? You've taken all of that into account?"

As with any probing inquiries she didn't want to discuss, Lorelai tried to brush it off quickly. "Yeah, we've figured it all out, Dad," she assured him. "Don't worry about it."

"I can review your annual budget if you want, make sure everything looks stable, maybe make some suggestions," Richard said.

"He has quite a knack for managing finances, Lorelai," Emily added. "Remember back in the Spring when he helped Luke invest some of that birthday check your father gave you?"

"It wasn't a birthday check, per se," Richard corrected her. "It was an investor's check that just happened to come about around her birthday."

"A check that was the result of a good investment made 35 years earlier," Emily declared, and looked pointedly at Lorelai. "See how good he is."

Lorelai nodded. "Yes, he's good, he's got a knack. We'll definitely come talk to you if we need any advice or want to tap into that knack again, Dad... I promise." She stood up from the couch. "I'm gonna go check on the boys upstairs, why don't you guys tell Rory about your trip?"

Lorelai headed back up to the nursery and entered the room with a sigh. "Okay, well, you were right about someone getting hammered with questions, but wrong about which girl."

Luke had Josh against his shoulder, gently rubbing his back to burp him, and he narrowed his eyes at her. "What do you mean? _You_ got hammered?"

Lorelai settled into the empty glider next to him. "Well, maybe hammered is a bit of a stretch, but I did get some questions."

"About what?"

"About my work schedule and who's watching him when I'm at work and if working part time is going to eventually drive us into the poor house," Lorelai replied. "What with Rory in Yale and the costs of a baby, et cetera, et cetera."

"What did you say?"

"I said that we're fine, that we had it figured out," Lorelai replied. "Which technically isn't a lie - we have it _temporarily_ figured out... until the next bill for Yale comes in."

"I'm sure they know we're not gonna get very far into Yale without their help," Luke said. "They were probably just fishing to see _how_ far we could get."

Lorelai nodded, and was quiet for a moment as she fidgeted with her bracelet. She brought her gaze back to him and asked, "And we think probably just one more semester without it being too much of a hit, right?"

"Yeah, we can swing the next one," Luke replied. "But we're gonna need help with the fall semester."

Lorelai took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly. "Right." She cleared her throat and adopted a movie-announcer voice. "Coming in the summer of 2004... the long-awaited sequel to 2000's blockbuster hit _Lorelai Asks Her Parents for Money_ will be arriving in theaters... _Lorelai Asks Her Parents for More Money and Hopes They Don't Laugh in Her Face."_

Luke smirked. "Is that just a working title or are you really committed to that?"

"How's this sound?" Lorelai asked, and put on a fake smile before cheerfully saying, "Mom, Dad, I know we haven't even scratched the surface yet in repaying that insanely large amount I borrowed for Chilton, but can you also loan me another hundred fifty grand for Yale, give or take a few thousand?"

Luke nodded approvingly. "There you go, you've already nailed the speech. Now we can just relax and practice it until June."

"I hate this, and I hate that they probably already know it's coming... they're just sitting back and waiting for the day we have to beg for their help." Lorelai exhaled a sigh. "There aren't any other options?"

"The other options are that Rory applies for a loan, or we apply for a loan," Luke said. "Either way, we'll be borrowing money from _somewhere,_ but in those cases, end up paying twice the amount back because of the interest."

"Yeah, but we'll still have our pride," Lorelai said, and Luke cocked his head to the side. She sighed again and nodded understandingly. "I know, I know. We'll do it, we'll ask them for Yale money. But can we not think about it for another 6 months at least?"

"Sure."

"Thank you." She reached over and rubbed Joshua's back. "He's sleeping. Did he burp?"

"Yeah, he did."

"Should we put him in the crib yet or do you think he'll wake up?"

"Hey," a voice softly said, and they looked over to see Rory standing in the doorway.

"Hi," Lorelai said. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah. The maid just announced dinner, so Grandma wanted me to see if you'd be down soon or if they should keep it warm." Rory nodded toward the baby resting on Luke's shoulder. "Is he asleep?"

Lorelai looked over at him. "Yup. The kid has no idea how lucky he is to get to sleep through these dinners."

"I'll put him down in a minute," Luke said. He reached for the empty bottle that he'd nestled beside his leg and offered it to Lorelai. "Can you take that?"

"Yup." Lorelai took the bottle from him, then stood up from the chair and walked over to Rory. "They didn't harass you with questions when I left, did they?"

Rory shook her head. "No, they were just talking about some of the places they visited on their trip. Grandma said she can't wait for me to see them all in person someday."

Lorelai scoffed and folded her arms across her chest. "Are you serious? I can't believe her!"

Rory looked confused. "What? Why?"

"She's gonna try to plan a Europe trip with you before we get to go on ours together. She's laying the groundwork now."

"How is her being excited about me visiting Europe laying the groundwork for anything?" Rory asked. "It was just a casual comment."

"My mother doesn't make casual comments," Lorelai said. "She's always got something up her sleeve."

"She does not," Rory said. "She knows you and I have a plan to go together."

"Well, she's systematically going to make you forget about that plan," Lorelai said, and she held up one finger. "Step one, she's gonna try to turn you against me for postponing our trip." She held up two fingers. "Step two, she's gonna try to turn you against Luke for knocking me up and leading to the aforementioned trip postponement." She held up three fingers. "Step three, once she's satisfied that you sufficiently hate us both, she'll swoop in with some first class plane tickets, and soon you'll be standing on top of the Eiffel Tower talking to her in French about how you can't believe you and I used to be best friends."

Rory blinked a few times and then shook her head in disbelief. "Does your mind ever turn off, even for just a second?"

"No, it doesn't," Luke answered for Lorelai. He had just placed Joshua in the crib, and walked over to them. "Seriously, never."

"I know how my mom's mind works and she would absolutely try something like that," Lorelai insisted.

"Well, it doesn't matter anyway," Rory said. "We have a plan, and I've already told you that I'm completely fine with our big trip being on hold for a few years. It gives me time to add more places to the list. So, even if she is concocting something, it won't work, okay?"

Lorelai smiled. "Okay, good."

"See, everything's fine, nothing to get worked up about," Luke said. "Ready to head down?"

"Yeah, I'll turn on the monitor." Lorelai walked over to the dresser, turned on the baby monitor and grabbed the receiver. "Okay, let's go. But if my father mentions our finances or if my mother mentions Rory going to Europe, we're all simultaneously faking a stomach bug and will need to leave immediately."

"Well, one of us has to be okay to drive and to take care of Joshua," Luke pointed out. "Plus, we have two cars here."

Lorelai sighed. "Fine, Rory and I will get sick, you'll drive us all home and take care of us, and then we'll come back to get Rory's car when we're feeling better. Everyone got it?"

"Got it," Rory replied.

"Yup." Luke put his hand on Lorelai's back and guided her toward the door, muttering, "Let's go get you another glass of wine."

. . . . .

. . . . .

A few days later, on Tuesday afternoon, Lorelai was in the master bedroom chatting with Rory on the phone while the baby napped in his nursery. After they hung up, Lorelai went to use the bathroom, and after she washed her hands at the sink, she stared into the mirror to look herself over.

She was wearing a t-shirt and sweatpants, and her hair was pulled back into a messy bun. Her eyes looked tired, and the bags under them were starting to show beneath the concealer she'd applied that morning. She made a face at how blah she looked and headed back to the bedroom.

Her eyes drifted to the nightstand, and the vase of flowers that Luke had brought home for her the day before. Just because, he'd said with a shrug when she'd asked what the occasion was.

He'd called that afternoon to see what he should pick up for dinner, and she didn't mention that she was having a bad day, but he could probably hear it in her voice. It had been a stressful morning at the inn, and then Joshua was cranky that afternoon, and she was feeling overwhelmed and tired and more worn out than usual.

And then he arrived home with dinner and flowers, salvaging her Monday. After dinner, he took Josh to visit Babette and Morey for a little while so Lorelai could have some time to herself. She had taken a hot shower and went to bed early to sleep off her bad day.

Lorelai glanced at the clock on the nightstand... Luke would be home from work in about an hour. While he had not once complained about regularly coming home to an exhausted wife in a t-shirt and sweats, she decided tonight she would greet him in something a little nicer.

She stood in front of the closet and surveyed the dress choices for a minute before deciding on one. She changed into it, did her hair, touched up her makeup, and spritzed on some perfume.

She carried a pair of heels downstairs and headed into the kitchen. She made some coffee and started cleaning up, putting away dishes, wiping the table. When she heard Luke pull up out front, she slipped into her heels and smoothed the front of her dress.

A minute later, she heard the front door open and close. "Lorelai?" Luke called softly, aware that the baby was sometimes napping when he got home.

"Kitchen," Lorelai called back.

Luke walked to the kitchen with bags he'd brought home from the diner for dinner, and he stopped abruptly when he saw her all dressed up.

Lorelai smiled. "Hi."

"Hey," he replied, and then narrowed his eyes at her. "Are you going out somewhere?"

Lorelai shook her head. "Nope. Just wanted to put on something nice."

"Okay." Luke set the bags on the table and stepped closer to her. "For any particular reason?"

"Well, I saw myself in the mirror earlier and got this sudden feeling of guilt that you work all day and then you have to come home to me looking like a tired schlub, so today I decided to go for the tired babe look instead." Lorelai paused a moment and then added, "Which I now realize has that whole '1950s wife needs to look presentable for her husband when he gets home from work' vibe that I hate, but let's ignore that."

Luke smiled, and then said, "You have never looked like a schlub, ever." He stepped up to her and put his hands on her waist as he added, "But you do look extra babe-ish tonight."

Lorelai smiled. "Thank you."

Luke kissed her, and then pulled back and cocked his head to the side. "But you work all day, too... nonstop," he reminded her. "You work your butt off at the inn and then you come home and take care of Josh... you never have a break."

Lorelai shrugged a little. "Yeah, well..."

He squeezed her waist. "If you wanna fancy yourself up for _you_ , if it makes _you_ feel good, then do it," he told her, and then shook his head. "But don't worry about me... I'm happy coming home to you no matter what you're wearing."

Lorelai smiled and leaned in to kiss him. When she pulled back, she said, "Thank God, these are killing me." She kicked off her heels and then let out a sigh of relief. "Much better."

"Good... just be comfortable," he told her.

Lorelai smiled. "Comfy wife, happy life?"

"Something like that."

Lorelai glanced down at her dress. "I do like getting a little dolled up for something besides Friday night dinner."

"Well, then, doll away," Luke said encouragingly. "Want me to go throw on a suit?"

Lorelai smiled. "No, let's eat before he wakes up."

They sat down at the table and started to eat dinner as they filled each other in on their days.

"The newspaper gave Rory two seats to that ballet she needs to review for the paper," Lorelai said. "She asked if I'd wanna go with her, and maybe grab some dinner beforehand. It's Thursday night. I told her I'd check to make sure you didn't have anything going on that night and would be home to supervise the baby to make sure he doesn't throw a wild party and cause mass chaos like he's one to do."

Luke smiled. "I will be home and will keep the boy out of trouble."

Lorelai smiled. "Cool. Thank you."

"Yup." He shoved a forkful of food into his mouth, and after he'd swallowed, he asked, "Any update on Sookie?"

Lorelai shook her head. "Nope, and she's getting mighty antsy about how stubborn her baby is."

"It's only 4 days late. It'll come when it's ready," Luke said.

"Yeah, I tried telling her that, she didn't go for it," Lorelai said. "She was sarcastically commenting about how nice it must've been for us that Josh actually arrived on time."

"Technically two days early," Luke said with a smile. "You throw that in her face?"

Lorelai smirked. "She would've strangled me through the phone."

"They talked themselves out of the at-home delivery idea, right?" Luke asked.

"Yeah, they really liked the maternity ward when they came to visit me, so..." Some faint whimpers started to come through the baby monitor, and Lorelai glanced toward it on the counter. "Someone's up," she said in a singsong voice.

"I'll get him." Luke wiped his lips with his napkin and left the kitchen.

A few moments later, Lorelai heard the sound of the nursery door opening on the monitor, and she glanced over at it with a smile.

"Hey, buddy, did you have a good nap?" she heard Luke whisper softly over the monitor. "Come here, let me see you." There was a pause as Luke presumably lifted him from the crib, and then he said, "Do you need to be changed? I think you do. Let's get you changed and then we'll go see your babe of a mom."

Lorelai's smile widened. She loved listening to Luke talk to the baby. All signs of his usual gruffness would disappear, and he became gentle and soft-spoken in a way that seemed to come so naturally to him.

When the boys finally entered the kitchen a few minutes later, Luke said to Josh, "There she is... we found Mommy." Lorelai grinned, but before she could say anything, Luke dryly added, "Yes, I know, that sounds adorable when I say it."

Lorelai nodded earnestly. "It really does."

Luke sat down at the table, cradling Josh in one arm. Lorelai reached over and smoothed her hand gently over Josh's leg. "How's my boy?" she cooed. "You were a good sleeper. How about you try doing that overnight, huh?"

Luke kissed the top of the baby's head. "He's getting better. He sleeps longer than he used to at night."

"A little bit," Lorelai agreed. "He's getting there."

Luke ate a forkful of food, took a sip of his drink, and then said, "I was just thinking maybe I'll invite Jess over for dinner on Thursday."

"Oh, yeah, good idea... then you wouldn't have to eat alone. You could have a guys' night."

"If he's not working that night," Luke said. "I saw him today for a minute. He said school's going okay, and he's taking shifts at the bookstore whenever he can fit 'em in. So he's keeping busy."

"Good, that's good," Lorelai replied. "Is he still seeing Jill?"

Luke shrugged. "I didn't ask."

"Of course not... you're not as nosy as I am."

Luke smiled. "No, I'm not." He looked down at Joshua for a moment, and then looked back at Lorelai. "So... has Rory mentioned meeting any new guys at school yet?"

Lorelai shook her head. "No, she hasn't, and trust me, I'm just an antsy about her getting involved with college guys as you are."

Luke nodded in agreement, but added, "She's a good kid, she'll make smart choices."

"Hopefully." Lorelai started distractedly poking at the food on her plate.

Luke watched her for a moment. "What are you thinking?"

Lorelai brought her gaze to him and replied with a shrug. "I don't know."

"Lorelai."

Lorelai exhaled a soft sigh. "I'm just thinking overprotective mom thoughts again. I know that she's an adult, but it's scary thinking of her being out there in the world on her own, not knowing what she's doing or the new people she's interacting with."

"I know, but she'll be fine," Luke assured her. "It's Rory... she's smart, she's kind, she's - "

"Impressionable," Lorelai interjected.

"It's not like she's gonna start running around with a bad crowd," Luke said. "Plus, it's Yale... they probably don't even have a bad crowd."

Lorelai smiled. "Good point. I can probably stop picturing an _Animal House_ situation here."

"Probably."

She wrinkled her nose a little as she asked, "So, should I stop worrying about college guys?"

Luke shook his head. "No, they're definitely trouble and we should be terrified," he confirmed.

Lorelai smirked. "Big help, thanks."

. . . . .

. . . . .

Later that evening, after Lorelai settled the baby in his crib for the night, she returned to the master bedroom. Luke was lying on his back on his side of the bed, and she turned on the baby monitor on her nightstand before climbing into bed next to him.

Lorelai rolled onto her side to face him and seductively stroked his arm. "So... are you feeling frisky?"

Luke looked over at her with surprise, and after a moment of hesitation, he replied, "Yeah, if you are."

Lorelai narrowed her eyes with confusion. "Uh, that was kind of an unenthusiastic response. We don't have to if you don't want to."

"I want to," he insisted.

"I'm pretty sure you flinched."

"It wasn't a flinch," he disagreed. "I was just surprised because you seemed tired and I wasn't expecting you to suggest it, that's all." He leaned in and kissed her. "Trust me, there's enthusiasm. I want to if you want to."

"Okay." Lorelai rolled onto her back and rested her head against her pillow, and then looked over at him. "But can I ask you one thing first?"

"Yeah."

"Do you feel like you can't initiate sex anymore?" she asked him.

Luke's eyes widened slightly, surprised by the question. "Um, well..."

"Because you haven't tried to since Josh arrived on the scene," she continued. "I've noticed that I'm the one who brings it up." She reached over and gently ran her fingers through his hair. "So... do you feel like you can't? Are you afraid to?"

"No, I'm not afraid." Luke rolled onto his side to face her. "But... you just had a baby three months ago."

"Yes, I did," Lorelai agreed. "A really cute one."

"Very cute. But you're hardly sleeping, you're busy all day, you're tired _all_ the time... hell, we _both_ are. I just figured that the ball should be in your court for this, that I should give you some space and just wait for you to bring it up."

Lorelai nodded understandingly. "Okay, I get that, that makes sense. And I appreciate it, I do... a lot. You're amazing."

Luke knew she had more to say, and he prompted, "But?"

Lorelai sat up on the bed and turned her body to face him, and thought for a moment about how to best explain it. "Well, the basic gist is that while my husband does a thousand things a day to make me feel good and happy and loved, there's this pretty awesome vibe that rushes through me when he's trying to seduce me."

Luke smirked. "Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah," Lorelai confirmed with a nod. "I feel desired and sexy and wanted, and I haven't really gotten to feel that vibe in awhile, and I kind of miss it. You know, _Cheap Trick_ said it best... 'I want you to want me.'"

Luke sat up on the bed and faced her. "You _are_ desired and sexy and wanted... I want you all the time. Seriously... _all_ the damn time." He leaned in and kissed her gently. "Plus, think about it... I'm on board when you initiate, and you've never had to give me the 'it's okay, it happens to all guys' speech, so there shouldn't be a question of whether or not I want you."

Lorelai smirked. "Yes, your performance is always top-notch, no complaints here about that. And I don't mind initiating, but... once in awhile, I'd like to be on the other side."

Luke nodded understandingly. "I get it. I just... I thought I was being respectful or whatever by leaving it up to you. It seemed like the right thing to do." He shrugged and added, "I guess I probably should've talked to you about it instead of just deciding to step back... I'm sorry, that's my fault."

Lorelai affectionately ran her hand over his cheek. "Don't apologize. You _were_ being respectful and kind and amazing, and I love you for it."

Luke kissed the palm of her hand. "I love you, too. And if you want me to start initiating again, I will. But I don't want you to feel bad telling me when you're not in the mood. I don't want you to feel pressure."

"If I'm not in the mood, I will say no," she promised. "And that _will_ probably happen occasionally, but I want you to still feel like you can initiate it. I want us to get back to how we were pre-baby."

Luke raised an eyebrow. "Pre-baby? That's ambitious."

Lorelai smirked. "Well, not in terms of the rabbit-like frequency." She patted his hand. "Sorry, I don't see us getting back to that level in the near future, but maybe someday."

Luke smiled. "It's okay. Our bodies are probably too tired to handle that now anyway."

"Yeah, tell me about it. This is our life now - we have transitioned from being the hottest couple in Stars Hollow to the hottest, _most tired_ couple in Stars Hollow... and probably of all the surrounding counties, and possibly all of Connecticut, because let's be honest, we're very attractive."

Luke smirked. "No argument here." He took her hand into his and squeezed it. "So, what aspect of pre-baby life are we trying to get back to?"

"The part where we didn't overthink things," Lorelai replied. "We both felt comfortable initiating, we said no when we weren't in the mood, and we didn't take a rejection personally. Simple as that... the basics of any loving relationship."

Luke nodded. "Okay. We can handle the basics."

"Good." She leaned in and kissed him softly, and then pulled back. "And just so you know, having this discussion now is going to help prevent devastating marital issues in the future, so it's actually more productive than you realize."

Luke's confusion was apparent. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, let me ask you - how long were you planning to..." Lorelai made air-quotes with her fingers. "...leave it up to me?"

Luke froze for a moment. "I don't know, I didn't really think that far ahead."

"Right, you were probably just going to be patient, play it by ear, see how things progressed, see if maybe we got less tired over the next few months," Lorelai surmised, and then she added, "Which, spoiler alert, we won't."

Luke smiled. "I know."

"And then the months start going by, and then a year goes by, and then bam, it's 2 years later, and you're still just hanging in there, waiting for me to initiate it every so often, and you start to feel ignored and frustrated and resentful, and then you start looking for a lady on the side, and then we've got a really messy, emotional, disastrous situation on our hands."

Luke's eyes were wide as he muttered, "Wow."

Lorelai nodded fervently. "Yeah, exactly."

Luke shook his head a little, unsure of how to respond to that. "Okay, well, enough said - we'll get back to pre-baby basics."

Lorelai smiled. "Glad we're on the same page." She was quiet for a moment, and then asked, "So, did I just ruin the mood by bringing this topic up?"

"By telling me you want me to try to sleep with you more often?" Luke asked. "Uh, no, you _upped_ the mood."

Lorelai smiled. "Okay, good."

As she lay down on her back with her head against the pillow, Luke moved closer to her beneath the covers. He kissed her, then moved his lips to her ear and whispered, "So... you wanna get frisky tonight?"

Lorelai's lips curved into a smile. "While that technically shouldn't count as you initiating because I already asked, I'll let you have it."

Luke smiled. "Thank you," he said, and he pressed his lips back against hers for a passionate kiss.

. . . . .

. . . . .

 **To be continued...**

.

.

.

.

.

 _ **Quick recap of It's Right There (IRT) and It's Still There (IST):**_

 _IRT starts right after episode 2x14. Lorelai asks Luke out and they begin dating. Luke eventually moves in, proposes, and they get married on Sept 1, 2002. IRT ends with them returning from their honeymoon and deciding to start a family. IST focuses on them trying to have a baby, going through Lorelai's pregnancy, and welcoming a son named Joshua on July 22, 2003._

 _Rory graduated as valedictorian of Chilton, and at the very end of IST, she was just starting Yale and found out Paris was one of her roommates. She dated Dean until the middle of IST, and then broke up with him. She was single at the end of IST._

 _Friday night dinners continue with Emily and Richard. Luke and Lorelai have started paying them back for Chilton. Richard started his own consulting firm (he has no business partner). Trix moved back from London to Hartford._

 _Jess lives in Luke's old apartment, works at the Stars Hollow bookstore, and decided to go to a local community college at the end of IST. He and Rory did not date. He started dating a classmate named Jill in IRT. He drives Luke's old green truck, gifted to him after Luke bought a Ford Explorer for himself._

 _Sookie and Jackson got married in IRT, and Sookie got pregnant in IST about 3 months after Lorelai did. She was still pregnant at the end of IST. Lorelai and Sookie still work at the Independence Inn with Michel._

 _It is mentioned in IST that Lane wants to pursue being a drummer, but the band members were not introduced in either story._

 _Chris lives in Boston with Sherry, they do not have a child._

 _That's a really basic summary of the stories, which were both written while GG was originally airing on TV (IST during late season 2 to early season 3, and IST during late season 3 to mid season 4.)_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

. . . . .

On Thursday night, Luke was home with the baby while Lorelai went to the ballet at Yale with Rory. The phone rang, and Luke reached for it from the coffee table. "Hello?" he answered.

"Hey, it's me, it's intermission," Lorelai greeted him. "How are my boys?"

"We're good, everything's fine here," Luke replied. "Jess came over, we had pizza for dinner, he left a little while ago, and now Josh and I are watching football."

"Doing some male bonding over a couple of beers as you ogle the cheerleaders?"

"Yup."

"Cool. Well, I have some news..."

"What is it?"

"I had a voicemail from Jackson saying that Sookie had the baby!" Lorelai excitedly told him.

Luke's eyes widened. "Oh, wow. That's exciting." He glanced toward the answering machine. "Did he call here? I didn't hear the phone ring."

"Sookie knew I was going out tonight, so she probably told him to call my cell," Lorelai replied. "I called him back a minute ago, he said everything went smoothly, the baby's healthy, they named him Davey, and Sookie's doing fine."

"Oh, good, I'm glad. If that kid didn't pop out this week, I think Sookie was gonna try to extract him herself."

"Yeah, the kid must've realized Mommy was getting pretty annoyed at his tardiness," Lorelai said. "I can't wait for Davey and Josh to have playdates and be friends and grow up together."

"Yeah, that'll be cute," Luke agreed.

"Anyway, I told Jackson I'd stop by the hospital for a visit after the ballet," Lorelai said. "This may or may not involve me stopping somewhere to pick up a strawberry blonde wig so I can pretend to be Sookie's sister because I don't know if they only allow family members to visit after a certain time, but I wanted you to know I'd be home a little later than I expected... and possibly wearing a wig."

"Okay," Luke replied. "Speaking of which, how is the ballet?"

Lorelai groaned. "Oh, my God, it's awful! Like _Battlefield Earth_ awful... it's actually hard to watch. But Rory has to review it, so we can't just leave in the middle. Well, I guess _I_ could, but a real mother would never make her child suffer through this alone."

"Geez. Well, hopefully it gets better in the second half."

"Hopefully. I'll call you on the way to the hospital to check in."

"Okay. Talk to you later."

"Bye."

. . . . .

. . . . .

The next afternoon, Lorelai arrived home from work, chatted a bit with Maisie before she left, and then headed upstairs with Joshua. She lay him on the bed as she changed out of her work clothes, and was about to change his outfit when the phone rang.

Lorelai grabbed the phone from the nightstand. "Hello?"

"Oh, good, you're there," Emily greeted her. "I called the inn first, they said you'd left for the day. I never know where you are anymore with this new work schedule of yours. God forbid there's an emergency and I need to track you down."

Lorelai sat down on the bed with a sigh. "That's quite a greeting there, Mom. You wanna start over?" She held the phone against her ear with her shoulder, then started to change Joshua into a warmer outfit.

There was a brief pause, and then Lorelai could practically hear Emily's pursed lips as she said, "Hello, Lorelai."

"Hello, Mom, how's your day going?" Lorelai said in a faux-cheerful voice.

"Well, I'm calling to tell you that I thought of the perfect Christmas present for your father."

"Uh oh."

"Why would you say that? What's uh-oh about a Christmas present?"

"Because you'd only call to tell me this if the perfect Christmas present involved me in some way, so go ahead, tell me... what are you gonna make me do?"

"I was thinking that you and Luke and Rory and Joshua could pose for an oil painting to hang up in your father's study," Emily said excitedly. "Wouldn't that be beautiful?"

"Uh, yeah, it would, Mom, but you seriously want a three month old baby to sit still for hours for an oil painting? That's impossible considering his mother can barely sit still for ten minutes."

"What if we do it during his nap time? He'll be still."

"He'll be asleep! You want to give Dad a picture of the baby sleeping?"

"I'll have the artist paint him with his eyes open."

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Mom, no, it's not gonna happen, sorry. Either the artist needs to paint it from a picture, or you need to think of another gift." She finished changing the baby and she picked him up to cradle him in her arms.

Emily sighed into the phone. "Well, then, what about posing for a regular photograph? That won't take as long as an oil painting. I'll call Helmut and we'll have him take a couple of different poses of the family, and I'll give Richard a nice formal picture to hang in his study."

Lorelai considered it for a moment, thinking it would be nice to have some professional photos taken to display in her own house, and she knew her mother's photographer was amazing.

"Okay, but only if we can also take some informal poses, too... some that I can hang here at home."

"All right, that'll be fine," Emily said. "Your father's going to London next week with your grandmother, I thought we could do it while he's away."

"What are they doing in London?" Lorelai asked.

"She said she wanted your father to accompany her to visit some friends," Emily said. "You know she hates to travel alone."

"Right."

"So, then, next Friday, plan to come an hour or two early for the photograph, all right? And remember, don't mention anything in front of your father at dinner tonight. I'll call Rory and tell her about it."

"Okay, Mom, I'll see you tonight," Lorelai said, and then she thought for a moment before she quickly added, "Oh, by the way, I'm not sure if Luke's gonna make it to dinner tonight, he might have to work later than usual. One of his employees called out sick today, so... you know... he might have to stay if it's busy."

"Well, I guess it's a good thing I called you or I wouldn't have known that," Emily said. "You would've just shown up without him and - "

"And there would've been an extra place setting at the table and life as we know it would end," Lorelai finished for her. "I'll see you tonight, Mom."

"Goodbye, Lorelai," Emily replied.

Lorelai hung up the phone, tossed it on the bed next to her, and then lifted Joshua up to her face. "Grandma is a little nutso, yes she is," she cooed before kissing his cheek. "Now let's go visit Daddy."

Lorelai put Josh in his stroller, tucked him in with a blanket, and started walking toward the center of town. She ran a few errands, stopping at the post office for stamps, the craft store for more thread, and Weston's for a brownie before heading to the diner. She parked the stroller outside and walked in with Josh.

The lunch crowd had dispersed and the diner was almost empty. She sat down at the counter and held the baby on her lap so he was facing the kitchen as they waited for Luke to walk out.

Luke surprised her, however, by walking in from the back storage room, greeting her with, "Hey."

Lorelai quickly glanced over at him and frowned. "Aw, we were gonna say surprise." She turned the baby toward him and said, "Surprise!"

Luke smiled as he walked over to them and sat down on the stool beside her. He leaned in to kiss her as he reached for Joshua and settled him on his knee. He kissed the top of his head before asking Lorelai, "What have you guys been up to?"

"We got stamps, and more thread for my next sewing project, and this..." she said, and she reached into the pocket of her jacket and pulled out the remaining half of her brownie wrapped up in plastic.

"Looks good," Luke said.

"It is, you have to try it." Lorelai unwrapped it, broke a piece off, and fed it to him. "It's extra fudgy today."

Luke chewed it and nodded in agreement. "Mm, that's really good."

Lorelai popped a piece into her mouth. "So, how goes it in the old salt mine here?"

"Pretty good," Luke replied, and then he nodded toward the specials board. "The chili and cornbread special has been selling like hotcakes."

Lorelai glanced around and then lowered her voice. "Your hotcakes or Caesar's hotcakes?"

Luke smirked. "Mine."

Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Oh, good, that's good then."

"And Kirk came back in again with that girl," Luke told her.

Lorelai gasped. "Lulu? They're still dating? That's so cute."

Luke shook his head in disbelief. "Yeah, I don't know what's wrong with her, but she seems into Kirk."

"I think it's sweet." Lorelai ate another piece of brownie before she hesitantly said, "So, I have good news and bad news... which do you want first?"

Luke groaned. "The bad."

"Well, my mother called and she wants us to come a few hours early to dinner next week when my dad's out of town so we can pose for some family photos so she can frame one for my dad's office as a Christmas gift." Lorelai gritted her teeth as she waited for his reaction.

Luke exhaled a sigh. "A photo shoot? We're gonna have your mom directing us in a photo shoot?"

"Yeah, but it won't be so bad," Lorelai quickly replied. "We'll dress up nice, we'll take a couple fancy pictures for her to make her happy, and then we'll take a couple for us, you know, some nice but less formal ones that we can put up around our house. And her first suggestion was that we pose for an oil painting, so trust me, we're getting off easy here." She reached over and smoothed her hand over Joshua's cheek. "As long as this little guy isn't cranky, it should go quickly."

"Famous last words," Luke said, and then sighed again before asking, "What am I gonna have to wear?"

"Probably just a black suit for my mom's portrait," Lorelai replied. "And we'll bring still-nice-but-more-casual attire for the pictures for our house."

"So there's going to be a costume change?" Luke sighed again. "Geez."

"Okay, you've exhausted your allotment of sighs for the day," Lorelai told him. "Come on, this isn't as bad as it sounds, and we're going to have some really great family photos when it's over... for free! I promise it will be worth it."

"Fine. What's the _good_ news?"

"Well, I mentioned to my mom that you _might_ have to work late tonight, so if you wanted to skip Friday night dinner, I got you an out," Lorelai said. "You know, to make up for the extra crap you'll have to deal with next week."

Luke's eyes widened a little and he smiled. "Really?" He nodded toward Joshua. "And you'll be okay dealing with him alone?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I'll have Rory there to help if I need it," Lorelai replied, and she patted his arm. "You rarely complain about tagging along with me to these dinners, but I know it's not exactly your favorite activity of the week."

"I like seeing Rory, so at least I get that out of it," Luke replied. "But it'll be nice to have a little break."

Lorelai smiled and nodded. "I thought so. Spend it wisely."

Luke was staring at Joshua's little hand wrapped around his thumb, and then slowly glanced back up at Lorelai. "Wait, she wanted us to pose for an oil painting? The baby, too?"

Lorelai smirked. "Yup. I immediately shot it down."

Luke shook his head in disbelief. "Insanity." As the bell on the door jingled, Luke glanced toward it and gave a nod. "Hey."

Lorelai followed his gaze and saw Jess walking in. "Hey, Jess."

"Hey," Jess greeted them, and then nodded toward the baby. "Hey, kid. Remember me from last night?"

"Thanks for coming by and keeping 'em company," Lorelai said.

"No problem," Jess replied with a shrug. "Got some free pizza out of it."

"You just getting back from school?" Luke asked.

"Yeah, and I work at 3, so I gotta go grab some lunch," Jess said. "See ya."

As he started heading toward the doorway to the apartment steps, Luke looked back at him over his shoulder and said, "Oh, hey, I'm gonna stop by later and check on that weird fridge noise you mentioned last night."

"Okay. Just don't look in the freezer, that's where I hide the booze," Jess replied before disappearing through the curtain.

Luke turned back to face Lorelai. "That was a joke, right?"

"I'm assuming so."

"See, I'm already taking advantage of my free night."

Lorelai smiled. "You've got some wild plans there, buddy."

"You want some coffee?" he asked as he passed Josh back to her.

Lorelai nodded. "To go. We have one more stop to make." She kissed the baby on his forehead. "Don't we? We need to go pick out a present for your new friend Davey for when he comes home from the hospital tomorrow."

Luke poured her some coffee in a to-go cup, then placed it in front of her. He glanced outside. "I don't see the Jeep... did you walk?"

"Yeah, it's beautiful for November," Lorelai replied. "We're getting some fresh air." She turned the baby around to face Luke. "Say goodbye to Daddy."

"Here, I'll walk you out," Luke said, and he took Josh back from her.

Lorelai grabbed her coffee and they walked outside. Luke buckled Joshua in the stroller and tucked the blanket around him. "Bye, kiddo," he said to Josh before standing up, and then he leaned in to kiss Lorelai. "See you later."

"Bye."

. . . . .

. . . . .

On Tuesday morning, Lorelai walked into the inn and over to the front desk. "Good morning, Lorelai," Tobin cheerfully greeted her in a singsong voice.

Lorelai smiled. "Hey, Tobin. How were things last night?"

"Very good." Tobin placed his hand on a piece of paper on the desk. "I have a list right here for you," he said calmly. "We can go over it as soon as you're ready. Go put your stuff down, get settled, grab some coffee."

Lorelai smiled. "Okay. Be right back." She put her purse and jacket in her office, grabbed a cup of coffee from the kitchen, and then returned to the front desk. "Okay. Catch me up."

Tobin gave her a summary of things that occurred during his night shift, the list of guests checking in and out during the day, and some things she needed to mention to Michel when he arrived.

"So, now that we've gotten that work talk out the way, tell me how your little one is!" Tobin said excitedly.

Lorelai grinned. "Oh, he's great. He's been drooling like a hose lately, though, so we think he might be starting to teethe."

"Wow, already?"

"Yeah, he's got my appetite, so he probably wants to start chomping on real food as soon as possible. He'll be eating a burger in a matter of months."

Tobin laughed a little too enthusiastically, and then gently nudged Lorelai's shoulder. "Oh, Lorelai. You're too much."

"I sure am," she agreed.

"Now, remember, I'm available for babysitting any time you need me," Tobin told her. "I love kids, and they seem to really love me back. I think it's my soft, docile tones."

Lorelai nodded. "Yup, probably. And we've got your number, we'll keep you in mind."

After Tobin left, Lorelai started going over the logistics of the bridal shower brunch they'd be hosting the following weekend. As she was reviewing the list of décor requested by the client, the phone rang, and she answered, "Independence Inn, Lorelai speaking."

"Lorelai, it's your mother," Emily greeted her. "Do you have a minute?"

"Hey, Mom. What's up?"

"Does Josh have a suit?"

Lorelai paused for a moment, replaying the question in her head. "I'm sorry, did you just ask if my three month old baby has a... suit?"

"Yes, I thought it would be cute if he wore a suit for the family portrait, and I wasn't sure if he had one," Emily replied. "If not, I'm going out shopping today and will pick one up."

"From where, the Baby Men's Warehouse?"

Emily sighed into the phone. "Does he or does he not have a suit, Lorelai?"

"No, Mom, he does not have a suit," Lorelai replied.

"That's all I needed to know, thank you."

"You have any special requests for what the rest of us are supposed to wear?"

"Well, Luke should wear a suit, too, obviously, and you and Rory in dresses," Emily replied. "Preferably black, but a grey might work... a neutral color. Nothing flashy, nothing low cut..." She paused a moment. "Do you have something that will work or should I pick something up for you?"

"No, no, no," Lorelai quickly replied. "No need, we've got it covered. The adults can dress themselves, but like I said, no baby suit."

"All right, I'll see what I can find."

"And just so you know, when you're out shopping later for a tiny suit and you're wondering if Josh has a tiny pair of dress shoes to go with it, I can assure you that he does not."

"Well, that's good to know, too. Thank you."

"Bye, Mom." Lorelai hung up the phone. While she'd been talking with Emily, Michel had arrived, and she turned to greet him. "Good morning, Michel."

"Lorelai," he greeted her with a nod. "Your mother is going suit shopping?"

"Yeah, she wants the baby to wear one for this family photo we're taking."

"Oh, thank God," Michel said with relief. "That baby will have someone influencing his wardrobe that isn't satisfied with dressing like a cattle raiser."

Lorelai frowned at him. "Oh, good, snarkiness right off the bat today." She pointed to Tobin's list on the desk. "Did you see Tobin's notes for you?"

"Yes, I saw them," Michel muttered, and he started going through a pile of mail.

"Oh, hey, are you gonna go visit Sookie? She came home from the hospital on Saturday."

"Probably not," Michel replied. "I've seen your baby, I'm sure hers looks pretty similar."

"Nope, completely different," Lorelai confirmed.

Michel shrugged. "I'm okay with assuming they're similar."

Lorelai smiled amusedly, unsurprised by his lack of interest. "Well, I'm sure she'll bring him in at some point and you can meet him here instead of actually putting any effort into pretending you care enough to go visit."

"See, things work out perfectly," Michel said, and then he looked over at her. "By the way, the boss lady called yesterday after you left."

Lorelai's eyes widened and she smiled. "Oh, yeah? How is she?"

"I didn't ask. But she said to expect the son to be in before the end of the year for an inspection."

"We refer to John as 'the son' now?" Lorelai asked. "Is this because he complimented Tobin's shoes last time and not yours?"

"Tobin's shoes looked like they were purchased from a bin in a drug store!" Michel exclaimed angrily. "Anyone who calls attention to those shoes while completely ignoring my very expensive Italian loafers is dead to me." He started walking toward the kitchen, grumbling over his shoulder, "I'm getting coffee."

"Okay. Good chat, Michel."

. . . . .

. . . . .

That Friday, it was late in the afternoon when Lorelai and Luke arrived at her parents' house. They left the sleeping baby downstairs in his carseat with Emily, and went upstairs to change in Lorelai's old bedroom.

Luke helped her zip up the back of her dress, and she turned around to face him. "How does it look?" she asked. "Conservative enough for a family portrait?"

Luke nodded. "Yup."

"But still sexy, though, right?"

Luke nodded again. "Very."

"Okay, good." She draped her arms over his shoulders. "You look hot."

"So do you."

Lorelai kissed him, and then pulled back and asked, "How's my lipstick?"

He eyed her lips. "Looks fine."

"Well, then, we can do better," Lorelai said, smiling as she leaned in to kiss him again. Luke deepened the kiss as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her up against his body.

There was a knock on the door and they quickly separated, and Lorelai frowned at him before she called, "Yes?"

"Mom, it's me," Rory's voice replied. "Just wanted to let you know I was here."

"You can come in, we're dressed," Lorelai called, then looked in the mirror and cleaned up her lipstick.

The door opened and Rory walked into the room. "Hey. You guys look nice."

"You, too. I love that dress on you," Lorelai replied, then gestured toward the bathroom. "Let me do one final makeup check, then I'll be ready."

"Take your time, Josh is still sleeping anyway," Rory said. "And the photographer just got here."

As Lorelai disappeared into the bathroom, Rory walked over to sit down on the bed, and she teasingly said to Luke, "I like your choice of lipstick."

"What?" Luke glanced in the mirror and saw some of Lorelai's lipstick on his face, and he quickly wiped it off. "Oops."

"I'll pretend I didn't see that," Rory said.

"Appreciate it," Luke said, and he walked over to sit next to her. "How's school?"

"Busy, but good," Rory confirmed. "I think I'm almost done with my trial articles for the paper and then hopefully I'll officially be on staff."

"I read the ballet piece," Luke said, and then he laughed. "Man, oh man, I could feel the pain of you guys having to sit through that."

Rory winced a little. "I know, it was a little harsh. I felt really bad writing it, but my editor wanted me to give a good, honest critique, so... I did."

"Then you did what you had to do... the writing was fantastic," Luke told her. "Seriously impressive."

Rory smiled appreciatively, although she still felt guilty. "Thanks."

Lorelai walked out of the bathroom, announcing, "Okay, all set."

They went downstairs, and even though the baby wasn't awake yet, the photographer started posing them for pictures so he could setup the lighting.

While they were doing that, the doorbell rang, and Lorelai's eyes widened. "I'll get it!"

"Don't be silly, Giada can answer the door," Emily told her.

"No, it's okay, I got it," Lorelai said, and then called, "Giada, I'll answer it!" She grabbed Luke's hand. "Come with me." As she pulled Luke toward the front door, she looked back over her shoulder and said, "So, I did something."

"What did you do?"

They reached the front door and she turned to him. "I invited someone else to picture day because they're part of the family, too, and I thought it would be nice to get some more pictures of them to put around the house."

Luke narrowed his eyes in confusion. "Who?"

"Well, if you can't figure it out, you really need to study your family tree a little better," Lorelai said, and then she pulled open the front door, announcing, "Ta-daaaa." But her announcement ended abruptly and her eyes widened when she saw Christopher standing on the porch. "Chris."

Christopher looked surprised to see her, and he stepped into the house. "Wow, I got a 'tada' greeting, wasn't expecting that. Hey, Lor," he greeted her with a hug, and then he extended his hand toward Luke. "Hi, Luke."

Luke forced a smile as he shook his hand. "Hey." He was confused, but didn't want the confusion to come out rudely, so he politely said, "Excuse me, I have to, uh, go check on the, uh... thing out back." He started to walk toward the back door.

Lorelai watched him walk away, and she was anxious to follow after him, but first she turned back to Chris. "What are you doing here?" she asked as she closed the door.

"I just got into town to visit my parents, and they're still at the club," Chris said. "So I thought I'd kill some time by visiting Emily and Richard. I didn't think you guys were here this early on Fridays."

"We're not usually," Lorelai replied. "Does Rory know you're in town?"

"Yeah, I talked to her earlier. We're planning to meet for coffee tomorrow morning," Chris replied. "She's gonna show me around campus."

"Oh, that's nice. She hadn't mentioned that yet." Lorelai gestured toward the living room. "Uh, well, everyone's in there if you wanna go in. I have to go talk to Luke for a minute."

Christopher headed to the living room, and Lorelai walked toward the back door. She found Luke on the back patio staring off into space, his arms folded across his chest.

"Everything okay?" Lorelai asked. "That obviously wasn't who I was expecting at the door."

Luke turned to face her. "So, just to be clear, that's not who you invited, right?"

Lorelai cocked her head in disbelief. "You really have to ask me that?" she asked calmly. "You _know_ that's certainly not who I meant when I said they should be in more pictures around our house."

"Yeah, I figured, but just wanted to double check. Did your mom invite him?"

Lorelai shook her head. "No, she didn't. Chris just told me himself that he was in town and decided to stop by to see my parents, that's it."

Luke scoffed before muttering, "Of course he did. Everyone stops by to randomly visit their ex's parents."

Lorelai shook her head with confusion. "Okay, tell me what's happening here. I thought the Luke/Chris jealousy stuff was over. There's been a clear winner chosen as to which man has effectively captured Lorelai's heart, so there's no rivalry anymore."

"It's not jealousy."

"Plus, the past few times we've seen him, you two have gotten along fine," Lorelai continued. "I mean, you're not gonna go on _The Amazing Race_ together, but still, it's amicable. It's polite. So why is your jealousy suddenly making a comeback? Because seriously, hon, if I'm going to have to deal with this until death do us part, I'm gonna need medication."

"It's not jealousy," Luke repeated firmly. "It's... I don't know..." He looked down at the ground for a few moments, then lifted his head to look at her. "It's just weird being _here_ with him."

Lorelai glanced around confusedly, then asked, "Here? Like _here_ , at this house?"

"Yeah. It's hard enough coming here and being around your parents and trying not to think about the fact that they don't think I'm good enough for you."

Lorelai frowned. "Luke, that's not true."

"And now I have to go in there and do it in front of the guy they wish you ended up with," Luke continued. "At the house he feels more comfortable in than I do. The house he makes impromptu visits to without any nervousness at all because he knows he's actually liked here. It's just annoying... it feels like extra pressure." He pointed toward the house. "You think your mom isn't in there right now wishing it was Chris posing in that family portrait?"

"It doesn't matter one bit," Lorelai said, shaking her head. "You're the one that _is_ posing in that portrait. You get to go in there and stand with your beautiful, happy, healthy family, and that's all that matters right now... not my mom, not Chris, not this house." She stepped closer to him. "You shouldn't be feeling bad, you should be feeling smug and lucky and happy."

Luke let her words resonate for a moment as he took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly. His arms snaked around her waist and he pulled her closer. "Good perspective, thank you."

"You're welcome." Lorelai rested her arms on his shoulders and stroked the back of his neck. "Don't let it bother you, please? It's a waste of time and energy to worry about things like that."

"I know it is," he replied. "But just think about it for a second. If you had to interact with in-laws who you knew preferred your spouse's ex to you - an ex who is always gonna be around because of parental obligations... wouldn't it bug you once in awhile no matter how hard you tried to be okay with it?"

Lorelai nodded understandingly. "Yeah, probably. I get it. But when you _are_ getting bugged, just try not to take it out on the person who didn't do anything wrong, okay?" She patted herself on her chest to make her point. "I'm an innocent bystander here, and I don't want this to turn into some point of contention for us."

Luke nodded. "I know. It won't, I promise." He leaned in to kiss her, and then pulled back with a curious look. "Wait, so... who _did_ you invite?"

Lorelai smiled. "Wow, I didn't think it was that hard of a mystery to solve. Jess... I invited Jess."

Luke's eyes widened with surprise, and then he blinked a few times. "You invited Jess... _here_? For a _photo shoot_?"

"Yeah, and it was not easy to get him to say yes, let me tell you," Lorelai said, shaking her head. "I had to bribe him, and the kid drives a hard bargain. And he was adamant that he didn't want to stay for dinner, that he'd just pose for some pictures and then get outta here."

Luke still looked surprised. "What made you decide to invite him?"

"I was thinking a few days ago that we don't really have any pictures of him except from the wedding," Lorelai explained. "I thought it might be nice to get some new ones... maybe a group shot of all of us, maybe some of you and him, maybe a manly picture of you, him, and Josh. So I stopped by the bookstore the other day and strongly persuaded him to come via monetary inducement, and then I called my mom to let her know."

Luke shook his head in disbelief. "Why didn't you mention it?"

"Because I honestly wasn't sure if he'd change his mind and not show up, so I didn't want to disappoint you," Lorelai explained. "And if he _did_ show up, well, then it would be a nice surprise."

"Either way, it's a nice surprise," Luke told her. "Thanks for thinking of it."

Lorelai smiled. "You're welcome."

They heard a knock, and they both glanced toward the patio doors where Rory stood on the other side holding a crying Josh. "Uh oh," Lorelai said, and they headed toward the doors.

As they walked into the house, Rory said, "Sorry, I was trying not to bother you guys, but I couldn't get the crying to stop."

"It's okay," Lorelai said as she took Josh from her. "Come to Mommy... what's wrong little boy?" She kissed his face and cradled him in her arms. "Shh, shh, shh, you're okay. Are you hungry?"

"I'll make a bottle," Luke said.

They walked back to the living room where Emily was chatting with Christopher by the drink cart, and they both looked over at her. "Is he all right?" Emily asked.

"Yeah, I'll feed him and he'll be good as new," Lorelai said, and Luke grabbed the diaper bag and headed to the kitchen. She rocked the baby in her arms to quiet him down a little, then said to Emily, "I hope Helmut doesn't mind starting a little later than planned."

"He's paid by the hour, so he won't mind at all," Emily said. "He just went outside to make a few phone calls."

Chris walked over to the couch and sat down. "He's a good looking kid, Lor. You make cute babies."

Lorelai smiled and kissed Josh's forehead. "Yeah, I do... thanks." She nodded toward Rory. "They look pretty good when they grow up, too."

"Gracias," Rory said, smiling.

Lorelai shifted Josh in her arms, and then asked Emily, "Mom, do you have a blanket I can put on the chair so I don't have to carry him upstairs to feed him?"

"I'll see if Giada can find an old towel," Emily said, and she walked out of the room to find the maid.

"So, your Dad's in London with his mother, I hear," Chris said to Lorelai.

"Yes, he is," Lorelai confirmed. "That's why we're taking this big secret family photo today, Mom wanted to surprise him with it for Christmas."

"He'll love that." Chris nodded toward her. "So, what else is going on with you, how's life?"

"Oh, you know, the usual... working, raising a kid, trying to function daily on 4 hours of sleep," Lorelai replied. "What about you?"

"Nothing too exciting," Chris replied. "Work's busy, Sherry's fine, life's going all right."

"Good to hear," Lorelai replied. Luke returned to the room and handed Lorelai the baby's bottle. "Thanks, hon." As she sat down in one of the chairs, she said, "Someone tell me when my mom's coming back."

"I'll keep watch," Rory said, and she stepped closer to the doorway to keep an eye out for Emily.

"So, Luke, how are things?" Chris asked him. "Still serving up Connecticut's best cup of coffee?"

"Yup," Luke replied. "What about you, everything good in Boston?"

"Yeah, can't complain," Chris replied.

The doorbell rang, and Lorelai looked up at Luke. "Ooh, that might actually be my invited guest this time," she told him. "You wanna answer it?"

Luke walked to the front door and pulled it open. An uncomfortable looking Jess was standing on the porch, and he visibly relaxed a little when he saw Luke at the door.

"Thank God," Luke said. "Someone who doesn't wanna be here just as much as I don't."

"Lorelai made me," Jess grumbled. "She doesn't really take no for an answer."

"Yeah, I know, sorry," Luke replied. "Heard you got some cash out of it at least."

"Only if I showed up," he muttered as he stepped into the house. "Let's get this over with fast, huh?"

"We have to wait for the baby to eat," Luke told him. "Just be polite and it'll be painless." Luke led him to the living room, and after greetings had been exchanged, Luke took Jess to show him the backyard. Since the photos wouldn't be starting for a little while, he figured they'd both be more comfortable hanging out back there instead of dealing with awkward chit chat inside.

Rory heard steps in the hallway and whispered to Lorelai, "I think Grandma's coming."

Lorelai stood up from the chair and walked a few feet away from it, and continued to feed Josh while standing.

"Here we go, we've got the towel," Emily announced as she walked in with the maid, and she pointed to the chair. "Right there, Giada."

"Oh, thank goodness, this is hard to do while standing way over here away from the expensive furniture," Lorelai said, and both Chris and Rory smiled at her.

Giada draped the towel over the chair, and Lorelai sat down with the baby. The photographer returned from out front, and Emily told him it would be a little longer before they could start.

"Oh, hey, Helmut?" Lorelai said. "While we're waiting, could you go snap a few casual candid pictures of the men out on the back patio? They might be more relaxed out there."

"Sure," he agreed. He picked up a camera and started walking toward the backdoor.

"The men?" Emily asked. "Who else is out there?"

"Jess arrived while you were getting the towel," Rory replied.

"Remember, I told you he might be coming, Mom," Lorelai reminded her.

"Right, you weren't a hundred percent sure," Emily replied.

"He's not staying for dinner," Lorelai replied. "He's just here for the pictures."

Christopher stood up from the couch. "Okay, there's a lot going on here, so I'm gonna get out of your hair," he said. "Emily, I'll give you a call next time I'm in town, hopefully Richard will be around."

"Okay. Thanks for stopping over. Give our best to Francine and Straub," Emily said.

"I will," Chris confirmed, and then he turned to Rory, "And I'll meet you at your dorm tomorrow morning, okay?"

"Sounds good," Rory replied as she walked toward him. "I'll walk you out."

"Take care, Lor," he said to Lorelai, and then nodded toward the backdoor. "Say goodbye to the men for me."

"I will. Bye, Chris," Lorelai said.

As Rory walked Chris to the front door to say goodbye, Emily sat down on the couch. "Is everything all right?" Emily asked Lorelai.

"Yeah, he's almost done," Lorelai replied, looking down at Joshua. "I'll change him and he'll be nice and happy for pictures."

"No, I mean with Luke," Emily said.

Lorelai looked up, surprised. "What? Yeah, Luke's fine."

"It seemed like he was trying to keep his distance from Christopher," Emily said. "He went outside, for goodness sake."

Lorelai shrugged. "No, he's fine with Chris, he was just surprised to see him. We both were."

"As was I," Emily replied. "Just seemed like there was more to it than that."

"There wasn't."

"And if so, you should try to resolve it now," Emily continued. "Christopher and Luke are both permanently connected to this family. They're bound to run into each other from time to time, and you don't want things to be awkward."

Lorelai exhaled a sigh, and then calmly said, "Mom, there's nothing to resolve, nothing's awkward, everything's fine, I promise." Rory walked back into the room, and Lorelai said, "Ooh, look how pretty Rory is."

Rory smiled confusedly. "What a nice greeting," she said as she sat down on the couch.

The photographer returned from the backyard and started talking with Emily.

After a few minutes, Lorelai shifted the baby to her shoulder to burp him. "Honey, you wanna go tell the guys it'll be about 10 more minutes and then we should be ready to go in here?" she asked Rory.

"Okay." Rory stood up and headed for the back door.

Lorelai burped and changed the baby, and soon they were finally posing for the formal pictures. Once Emily was satisfied with the results, they changed into less formal attire and took another batch of photos. When they were finished, both Jess and the photographer left, the baby fell asleep, and dinner was served in the dining room.

. . . . .

. . . . .

As they started the drive home after dinner, Lorelai asked Luke, "So, better or worse than you expected it to be?"

Luke glanced over at her and shrugged. "I guess it wasn't so bad. But I'm pretty sure you're never going to be able to get Jess to go there ever again."

Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "Yeah, I know. I'm glad he showed... I honestly wasn't expecting him to."

Luke glanced toward her. "I think I know why he did."

Lorelai's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

"We were talking out back and he said that he might need help paying for next semester. He's got some savings, but it's probably not gonna be enough."

"Oh." Lorelai thought for a moment and then smiled to herself. "So, by going along with the photo shoot, he not only earned some bribe money, but also got some good karma points before asking for the college money. Smart kid."

Luke smirked. "Yeah. And remember, I told him if he ever needed help with school, to tell me," he said. "That's important, I don't want him to struggle with that and then end up dropping out just because he can't afford it."

Lorelai nodded. "I know."

"He said he's gonna try to arrange his schedule better next semester so he can work more hours at the bookstore." He paused a moment before hesitantly asking, "You're okay with it, right? If we give him some money for tuition?"

"Of course I'm okay with it." Lorelai reached over and rubbed his arm. "He's family, Luke, and he's trying to do something to better his future. If he needs help, we should help him."

Luke looked over at her with an appreciative smile. "Thanks." As he focused on the road, he added, "I think it's only a couple thousand a semester. I mean, I know that's still a lot, but it's not like... you know..." His voice trailed off.

"Yale?" Lorelai supplied.

"You know I don't mean it in a bad way," Luke said, glancing over at her. "I was just trying to say that it's not like we're gonna be _doubling_ our college costs, it would be just a _little_ bit more."

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, no, I know." She tiredly rested her head back against the headrest. "Speaking of Yale, Rory's gonna show Chris around the campus tomorrow morning."

"That's nice." Luke glanced over at her. "You know I'm fine with him, right? Yes, it can be weird sometimes, but... I'm not jealous. It's not that."

Lorelai smiled at him. "Good, because there's no reason to be."

"I know there's not," he said.

"Oh, but my mom thinks you have some sort of beef with Chris, and that you were trying to avoid him by staying outside as much as you could," Lorelai said. "I told her everything was fine between you guys, but didn't let her in on the secret that you were most likely staying outside to avoid _her."_

Luke smirked. "I appreciate that."

. . . . .

. . . . .

A few weeks later, on a late Saturday afternoon, Lorelai was upstairs in her bedroom sorting laundry when she heard the front door open and close. Luke had just left to do some food shopping at Doose's, and she wasn't expecting him back so soon. She walked into the hallway and halfway down the steps.

"Luke, are you back already?" she called softly, not wanting to wake Joshua sleeping in his nursery.

"No, it's me," Rory's voice replied from the kitchen. "Hey, Mom."

Lorelai walked to the kitchen and found Rory in front of the open fridge. "Hey... this is a nice surprise," Lorelai said. "How was the game?" Rory had spent the day at the Harvard/Yale football game with Emily and Richard.

Rory grabbed a can of soda from the fridge and shut the door. "Ugh, long... very long. But you would not believe the extravagant tailgating camper that Grandma and Grandpa rented for the game. It was incredible."

"Tailgating camper?" Lorelai asked, her eyes widening. "They tailgate?"

"They tailgate, and they tailgate right," Rory confirmed with a nod. "There was a ton of food, and Grandma made Bloody Mary's, and Grandpa was so excited to introduce me to his friends. He was practically giddy all day."

"I bet. Yale is his happy place," Lorelai said. "I'm pretty sure it ranks above me on his list of favorite things." She sat down at the table, and Rory joined her. "Did you have a good time?"

"Yeah, it was good. They were happy I was there." Rory took a sip of her soda, and then set it on the table in front of her. "I want to talk to you about something I did."

Lorelai tensed up a little. "Okay..."

"And I know you're probably not going to be happy that I did it, which is why I did it without talking to you about it first, and I'm really sorry that I had to do it that way, but I knew if I did talk to you, you would've gotten upset and told me not to do the thing that I did."

Lorelai's mind started racing with ideas about what it was. She cringed and cradled her face in her hands. "Oh, God, just tell me!"

Rory took a deep breath, and then quickly blurted out, "I asked Grandma and Grandpa if they could start paying for Yale, and they said yes."

Lorelai's eyes widened and her hands fell to the table, making a loud smack. "What?!"

"Don't be mad, okay? I was just trying to take the burden off of you and Luke."

"It wasn't a burden," Lorelai insisted. "It was a responsibility and we had it handled."

"Mom, I overheard you guys talking last month in the nursery at Grandma's about how next year you'd probably have to ask them for money for Yale and that you were dreading it."

Lorelai's face fell and she shook her head disappointedly at herself. "Ugh, Rory, I'm sorry... you weren't supposed to hear that. That's not something I wanted you to worry about it."

"I know," she replied. "But I did hear it, and I've been thinking about it a lot, and I know that asking them for money for Chilton was hard enough for you, and I didn't want you to have to go through that again. And I wasn't planning to actually do it today, but when we were there, it just sort of felt like the timing was right, so I did it."

"Rory, I didn't want you to do that," Lorelai said, shaking her head.

"It's _my_ education, Mom," Rory said. "I'm an adult now, it's my responsibility to pay for it, even if I have the most amazing, loving parents who want to do it for me. And yes, by parents, I mean you and Luke."

Lorelai smiled at that comment, but then exhaled a sigh. "But Rory - "

"No, no 'but Rory'," Rory interrupted her, holding up her hand. "It's over, it's done with. Yale is now financed for the rest of my time there, and you don't have to think about it or worry about asking them. You will not be financially indebted to them, _I_ will be, and I'm okay with that."

"But Rory..."

"I just rejected your first 'but Rory' and now you're throwing another one at me?"

"Yes, because I feel bad that you felt like you needed to do this on your own," Lorelai said. "That's not how this was supposed to go. I'm the parent, I was supposed to take care of this for you."

"But the end result is the same whether you asked them or I asked them," Rory pointed out. "And I know you guys were planning to pay for next semester, but I asked them to cover that, too. Now you can put that money toward something else... Josh's college fund, or the inn you're gonna open with Sookie, or maybe use it for Jess' tuition..." Her voice trailed off and she glanced down at the table.

Lorelai's eyes widened. "How did you..."

Rory shrugged sheepishly. "I may have overheard Luke and Jess talking about that at Grandma's when I walked out to the back patio."

Lorelai gasped. "Oh, my God, Rory! What do you do, just walk around your grandparents' house eavesdropping on every conversation?"

"I just happen to overhear things, I can't help it!" Rory insisted.

"It's because you're so damn quiet when you walk, people don't know you're there," Lorelai said knowingly.

"Maybe. But the point is, there are a lot of other things you can do with that money."

"But Rory..."

"Mom, listen, I did this for you and Luke, but I also did this for me, okay? I'll feel guilty forever if you guys drain your entire savings for me," Rory told her. "I need you to realize that it's something that would hang over me, and I don't want that. Let's just let them take care of it."

Lorelai exhaled a sigh before she nodded understandingly. "Okay. I get it. It's done. I'll tell Luke we are officially out of the Yale financing game."

"Thank you."

"And... even though I didn't want you to do it... I know your intentions were to help us, so... thank you," Lorelai said sincerely.

"You're welcome." Rory eyed her for a few seconds before hesitantly asking, "So, you're not mad?"

"No, I'm not mad," Lorelai replied. "But I don't love that you kept stuff from me. I mean, you were thinking about this for almost a month, Rory. I wish you would've came to me and told me what you overheard and we could've talked it out."

"But I knew exactly how it would've gone," Rory said. "You would've told me not to worry, that you'd handle it, and strongly demanded that I don't ask them for the money myself."

"Damn right," Lorelai confirmed. "But even if you know my reaction, that's not a reason to keep something from me... I always want the lines of communication open between us, okay?"

"Okay," Rory agreed. "Next time I know you're going to try to talk me out of doing something, I'll tell you about it first and listen to you try to persuade me not to do it before I go off and do it."

"Thank you, that's all I ask." They were both quiet for a few moments, and Lorelai asked, "Is that why you came over, to tell me that?"

"Yeah. I needed to get it over with as soon as possible."

"Do you wanna spend the night? Luke just ran to Doose's, so we'll be all stocked up with snacks very soon," Lorelai said. "And tomorrow we're gonna go visit Sookie."

"You had me at snacks," Rory said, rubbing her hands together excitedly. "Where's my brother?"

"He's napping," Lorelai replied, and then glanced at her watch. "He'll be up soon. Come sit upstairs with me while I finish folding the laundry."

. . . . .

. . . . .

When Luke arrived home from Doose's, Lorelai and Rory were on the couch with the baby nestled in Lorelai's lap. As Luke walked through the front door, Lorelai announced, "Hon, Rory's staying the night, so I hope you got enough ice cream."

"Got plenty," he replied as he walked into the living room. "Hey, Rory... how was the game?"

"Well, we lost, but I experienced the most elaborate tailgating you could imagine, so it was still a win," Rory replied.

Luke's eyes widened. "Emily and Richard tailgate?"

"I was just as shocked," Lorelai said. "Never once have they shared this secret hobby with me. What, you have to be a member of the secret Yale club to get some steak?"

Rory nodded. "I think that's the requirement."

"I wonder what else they're hiding from us," Lorelai mulled.

Luke held up the shopping bags in his hands. "I'm gonna start unpacking. Got a few more bags in the car." He started walking toward the kitchen.

Lorelai wrinkled her nose at Rory. "I should go help. Can you hold him for a minute?"

Rory's eyes widened as Lorelai held out the baby to her. "Oh, whoa, wow... okay... hold on." She sat up straighter on the couch and let Lorelai gently place the baby in her arms.

"You good?" Lorelai asked as she stood up.

"Yeah, we're good. But Mom..." Rory locked eyes with Lorelai for a moment and then nodded her head toward the kitchen. "Are you gonna tell him?" Rory whispered.

"Tell him what?" Lorelai whispered back.

"About Yale," Rory whispered. "About the money. He won't be mad, right?"

Lorelai smiled and patted her on the arm. "Not even a little, trust me. I'll go tell him now, we'll get it out of the way."

"Okay, thanks."

"Be right back," Lorelai said. She threw on her coat and walked out the front door to grab some bags from the back of Luke's SUV. While she was trying to balance the four remaining bags in her arms to prevent having to come back out again, Luke came out of the front door.

"Whoa, hold on, I'll help you," he said, rushing over to her. He took two of the bags from her and shut the trunk.

"Thanks," Lorelai said, and then added. "Hold on a second... don't go in yet. I wanna tell you something."

Luke turned to face her. "Okay. Tell me."

"Well, so, you know how we were talking at Friday night dinner a few weeks ago about how we'd probably have to ask my parents for help with Yale next year?"

"Uhhh... yeah," Luke replied, confused about where this was going.

"Well, Rory overheard it and it kind of struck a chord with her, and she decided that she didn't want us to have to ask them for the money... she thought she should ask them herself because it's her education. And so she asked them today."

Luke's eyes widened. "What?"

"And of course they said yes," Lorelai continued, "and they're gonna start paying for Yale... like, _right_ _now_. We don't even have to send in the payment for the next semester. She said it's not fair for us to spend all of our savings on her like that, that she would feel guilty about it."

Luke blinked a few times, and then leaned over to put down the bags he was holding. He stood back up straight and rubbed his temple. "Wow."

Lorelai nodded in agreement. "Yeah. What do you think?"

Luke shrugged. "I guess it all ends up the same whether we asked or she asked, and I kind of feel relieved to have it taken care of already... but at the same time, I'm sure you don't like that she took that task on herself."

Lorelai shook her head. "No, I don't. That's something I should've dealt with, not her. I feel like a bad mom that she thought she had to do something like that."

Luke cocked his head to the side. "Stop it. She could've pretended she didn't hear anything and just let you stress about it for months and dread the day you'd have to ask them," Luke pointed out. "But no, she did it for you so you could save some money and avoid having to go through that with your parents again. You should feel like a great mom for raising a kid like that."

Lorelai smiled at him appreciatively. "Thanks."

He nodded toward the house. "Now, just try to remember exactly what you did to get her to be amazing so we can make sure the boy turns out that way, too."

Lorelai's smile widened. "I think amazing is the only possible outcome he could have with us raising him, isn't it? What else could he be?" Luke started to respond, but Lorelai quickly cut him off. "Wait, no, I can tell you're about to start listing my annoying quirks, so let's leave that as a rhetorical question."

Luke smirked and leaned down to pick up his bags. "Let's go unpack these."

. . . . .

. . . . .

The following Thursday was Thanksgiving, and on Friday, the girls woke up early to hit some sales while Luke stayed home with Josh. When they got home later that morning, Luke helped bring in their shopping bags from the car.

"The deals were amazing," Lorelai told him. "They were all too good to pass up."

"Yeah, I can tell, it doesn't look like you passed anything up."

"I'm practically done with Josh's Christmas presents already," Lorelai said proudly.

As he glanced down at the bags around him, his eyes widened. "What do you mean, _practically_ done? You bought all of this and you're not done? He's a baby, he doesn't need a hundred presents."

Lorelai scoffed at him. "It's his _first_ Christmas, Luke... it has to be special."

"Lots of presents doesn't equal special, Lorelai," Luke pointed out. "You can have a special Christmas without spending a fortune."

Lorelai scoffed again. "Hello, were you not listening to how good the deals were? I didn't spend a fortune. So, yes, it will be special and he will have lots of new clothes and toys and books, all provided to him at a very reasonable price."

"Reasonable individually, but altogether, I doubt it," Luke said. "Look at all these bags."

"They're not all for him," Lorelai said. "There are some things for you in here, my parents, Sookie, Davey, et cetera. And of course, Rory and I deserved some treats for getting up early and braving the crowds."

"Yes, we earned our rewards," Rory declared from the armchair she had exhaustedly collapsed into immediately after entering the house.

"All right, we'll discuss healthy spending habits later, I'm going to the diner," Luke said, and then gestured to Josh sleeping in the portable crib in the corner of the room. "He should be up soon, and he ate around 9:30."

"Did you get down the Christmas decorations from the attic?" Lorelai asked.

Luke shook his head. "Didn't think it was the best idea to climb a ladder while home alone with the baby," he replied. "Just in case something went wrong."

"Oh, yeah, good thinking," Lorelai agreed. "Parenting point for you."

"But there are some boxes in the garage you can start with," Luke said. "I'll get the attic ones down tonight."

"Okay, I'm gonna go change into more comfortable clothes and start making the house festive," Lorelai said. "Rory, keep an eye on him for a few minutes?"

Rory had her eyes closed as she tiredly murmured, "Mmhmm."

"Okay, keep an ear on him, at least." Lorelai kissed Luke goodbye. "See you later."

"Bye." Luke looked after Lorelai as she headed up the stairs, and when she was out of view, he whispered, "Psst, Rory."

Rory opened her eyes and looked over at him from the armchair. "Yeah?"

"Can I talk to you for a second?" Luke gestured toward the kitchen. "In the kitchen?"

Rory narrowed her eyes curiously. "Uh, yeah, sure." She stood up and followed him to the kitchen, and they stood by the back door.

"So, listen, this crazy idea popped into my head and I wanted to talk to you about it," he said, and then he took a deep breath. "How do you think your mom would feel about going away for a week or so without the baby? You think she would have a hard time being away from him for that long?"

Rory pondered for a moment. "I don't know."

Luke gritted his teeth. "Yeah, I wasn't sure either."

"Are you trying to plan a trip for the two of you?"

"No... for the two of _you_."

Rory's eyes widened. "What? Me and her?"

"I was thinking that since you guys couldn't do your big Europe trip over the summer that maybe you two could go on a smaller trip when you're on Spring break," Luke said. "You're off for two weeks, right?"

"Yeah, two weeks."

"So, I was thinking you could go for maybe a week, 10 days, something like that, and check a few countries off your list," Luke suggested. "And then maybe in the summer, or next spring, try to hit a few more."

Rory's eyes were still wide, and she didn't know what to say. "Wow, Luke."

"I know it's not the big 3-month backpacking trip you two had envisioned, but I thought this could be a good compromise for now, something to get you started. I just don't want you guys to keep putting it off and then it becomes harder to schedule because of school or work or whatever else is going on. Maybe instead of doing it all at once, breaking it up into smaller trips might be easier."

Rory had been smiling at him as he spoke, and she nodded in agreement. "I think it's a good idea... and I don't have any plans yet for Spring break."

"I was thinking I'd book the trip and then give it to her as a surprise Christmas present," Luke said. "I'm gonna talk to Mia about it first, make sure the dates would be okay for her to be away from the inn."

"Good idea."

"And I know she'll _want_ to go, but I wasn't sure if she might have some reservations about leaving the baby. That's the one thing making me hesitate."

Rory and Luke stared at each other for a moment, and then Rory said, "I think you should just go for it. Yeah, maybe she'll be a little sad saying goodbye and I'm sure she'll miss both of you while we're gone, but she'll deal with it. I don't think it'll stop her from going."

Luke smiled. "Yeah? You think it'll be okay?"

Rory nodded. "I think so. I think it'll be fine."

"Okay, good." Luke smiled, starting to feel a little more encouraged about his idea. "I was thinking I'd go to that travel agent in Danbury, the one next to that ice cream shop your mom likes, and see if they can help me figure this out. What countries should I start with... where do you wanna go?"

"Um, everywhere," Rory replied with a laugh. "So, basically, you can't go wrong."

Luke smiled. "Okay, well, how many countries do you think you can do in 10 days that'll let you see enough stuff without completely exhausting yourself to death?"

Rory pondered a moment. "Um, I would say maybe three."

"And by the way, no hostels," Luke said firmly. "I know that was part of your big plan, but seriously, trust me on this, they're disgusting and I'm springing for hotels."

Rory smiled. "All right, fine, I'll try to deal with this very inconvenient alteration to our plan."

Luke rubbed his palms together. "Okay, well... I better get moving on this. I'll try to call Mia today, and then maybe get over to the travel agent tomorrow."

"Okay," Rory said.

"I have to get to work," Luke said. "Don't say anything to her, okay?"

"I won't," Rory assured him. "I think it'll be a nice surprise. It's an amazing idea, Luke...really."

Luke smiled. "Thanks. I figured it would be a good way to use some of that money you saved us by taking care of Yale with your grandparents."

Rory smiled. "Well, I didn't realize I'd be funding my own trip by doing that, but it's a nice bonus."

"Well-deserved for both of you," Luke said as he affectionately patted her arm. "I'll see you later. Try not to let her spend any more money today, huh?"

"I'll try," Rory promised.

. . . . .

. . . . .

 **To be continued...**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

. . . . .

It was the first Saturday of December, and Lorelai was in the nursery changing Josh while Luke was taking a shower. A familiar feeling washed over her and she glanced toward the window, and then she smiled down at the baby. "It's starting soon," she whispered.

She finished changing him, threw on his jacket and a winter hat, and then rushed with him to the bathroom. Lorelai knocked on the door before she pushed it open. "Luke, hurry, dry off!"

Alarmed, Luke quickly stuck his head out from behind the shower curtain. "What's wrong?"

"I smell snow!" Lorelai giddily declared. "It's Josh's first snow outside of the womb, come on!"

Lorelai had been on high alert all morning. A snowstorm had been predicted for the weekend, and she'd told Luke that they needed to be outside when it started so they could share that moment with Josh.

Luke turned off the water, pushed open the shower curtain, stepped out of the shower, and reached for his towel.

Lorelai waved her hand in a circle, urging him to go faster. "Come on, come on, you're moving so slowly."

Luke started drying himself off. "While you're waiting for me, why don't you go get the video camera? We can record this miraculous occasion and relive it for years to come."

Lorelai's eyes widened. "Ooh, good idea! Why didn't I think of that?" She turned and hurried toward their bedroom, calling over her shoulder, "And I heard that mocking tone in your voice!"

She lay Josh on the bed, away from the edges in case he tried rolling over, a skill he'd recently been developing. She picked up the video camera from the dresser, popped on the battery, and turned on the power.

Luke walked into the bedroom with a towel around his waist. "Got it all set up?"

"Yes. Why aren't you dressed?"

"My clothes are in here," he said. "It'll only take me a second."

Luke got dressed quickly and they went downstairs, grabbing their coats before heading out the front door and onto the lawn.

Lorelai was holding a bundled-up Josh in her arms and Luke had the video camera. She looked up toward the sky and took a deep breath, then smiled at Luke. "This is exciting, huh?"

Luke smiled and nodded. While he didn't exactly share her deep love of snow, he did like how happy it made her.

"You can turn it on," she said, nodding to the camera. "It's coming. I can feel it."

Luke pushed record on the camera and took a few steps back from them. Lorelai turned Josh around in her arms so he was facing the camera.

"Here we are, on this frigid December 6th, waiting for Josh's first snow," Lorelai said to the camera, and then pointed toward the sky. "My senses are telling me it's going to be any second now." She kissed the baby's head. "Are you excited, Joshy?"

Josh was gurgling as he looked around the yard, oblivious to how exciting this moment was for his mother.

"Ooh, ooh, here it is!" Lorelai announced excitedly as the first flakes began to fall around them. Lorelai took Josh's hand and held it out, trying to get him to feel some of the falling flakes. "Do you feel that, honey? That's snow... beautiful, wonderful, magical snow."

Luke continued recording them for a minute, smiling as he watched Lorelai talk to Josh about all the things she loved about the snow. He turned the camera off and walked over to them, and pressed his lips to Lorelai's for a deep kiss. He pulled back with a smile. "Happy first snowfall."

Lorelai smiled brightly. "Are you finally starting to appreciate the magic of snow?"

"Maybe a little," he admitted.

"I knew you'd come around eventually," she said. "Let me take some video of you and him."

Luke handed her the camera and took the baby, and she took some video of her two boys in the snow. After she had turned the camera off, she walked over to them.

"There's definitely gonna be enough snow to build his first snowman tomorrow," Lorelai said. "And we can lay him on the ground and make little baby snow angels, it'll be so cute!"

Luke smiled at her excitement, and then glanced down at the baby who was starting to unhappily squirm in his arms. "Okay, let's finish the snow celebration inside... I think he's cold."

"Okay," Lorelai agreed, and they started walking to the front door. "We can have hot chocolate and light a fire and watch the snow fall out the window while also watching a movie with a lot of snow in it."

They walked into the house, and they took off their jackets before heading into the living room. Lorelai walked over to the side window with Josh to watch the snow.

"What movie do you wanna watch?" Luke asked. " _Frosty the Snowman_?"

Lorelai turned around to look at him. "Oh, that's much more family friendly than the movie that popped into _my_ head."

"Which was?"

" _Misery."_

Luke narrowed his eyes. "That's the first movie you thought of to celebrate our son's first snow?"

"It's a classic, and there's snow in it!"

Luke smirked. "Well, maybe for the kid's sake, we'll hold off on showing him that particular classic for another 18 years or so."

"Good idea." She looked out the window for a moment, and then back at Luke. "Oh, can you grab the phone? I have to call Rory for a mother/daughter snowfall chat."

Luke retrieved the phone and walked it over to her. "So, what did you decide to do about the procession costumes?"

Miss Patty, on behalf of Taylor, had called the house two days earlier while Lorelai was at work asking if she'd be able to help with costume alterations for the annual procession. Luke had relayed the message to her when she got home.

Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "I called her back and said yes." She held up the baby in front of her face to hide behind him. "Don't be mad at Mommy, she's just trying to keep the townies happy so they continue to love her and help watch me when I need a babysitter."

Luke smirked. "I'm not mad. If you think you can handle it, then you should do it. You like that stuff."

Lorelai lowered the baby shield. "I think most of the people walking in it this year are gonna be the same as last year, so there shouldn't be too many alterations needed. Saying yes was just easier than being publicly flogged by Taylor for neglecting to participate."

"You just had a baby," Luke pointed out. "If he tried to flog you for not having enough time to sew stupid costumes when you're trying to juggle work and a baby and constant exhaustion, I'd strangle him with my bare hands."

Lorelai turned the baby around to look at his face. "Honey, just so you know, Daddy is not usually a violent man, he's just very protective of Mommy." She lowered her voice a little, adding, "Now, don't tell him, but even though Mommy can take care of herself, she finds Daddy's protectiveness kind of hot sometimes."

Luke smiled and handed her the phone. "Here, you call Rory, I'll go make the hot chocolate."

Lorelai smiled and kissed him. "Thank you."

. . . . .

. . . . .

A week later was the annual Christmas party at Emily and Richard's house. When Luke arrived home from work, the first floor was empty and the house was surprisingly quiet.

Luke headed upstairs and found Lorelai getting Josh dressed in the nursery, and walked over to them at the changing table. "Getting more use out of that suit Emily got him, huh?"

"Yeah," Lorelai replied. "The idea of a baby in a suit seemed completely absurd until I saw just how adorably handsome he looked in it."

Luke smiled and nodded. "It's cute. Where's the bowtie?"

"I'll clip it on right before we leave," she said.

"Is Rory meeting us there?"

"Yup."

Luke checked his watch. "And you wanted to leave by 5:30, right?"

"Around then, yeah," Lorelai said. "But if we're running late, we'll just blame it on Josh. They can't get mad at a baby." She lifted Josh up and smiled at him. "No, they can't... especially not when you're dressed up like an adorable little businessman."

Luke snorted a laugh. "I feel like I should be asking him for tax advice or something."

Lorelai smiled. "I bought him the cutest little Christmas sweater for when we take him to sit on Santa's lap next week." She quickly held up a hand. "And please don't do another rant about how we shouldn't instill the Santa fantasy in him, I've heard it enough."

"The concept of Santa is stupid," Luke said. "And parents just keep going along with it year after year, and for what?"

Lorelai gently covered his mouth with her hand. "I just said don't do that!" She dropped her hand and added, "I know it seems stupid, but when he's a little older and you see how excited he gets at the idea of Santa, you'll change your mind. The fantasy of Santa is a huge part of childhood."

"But then we have to watch the fantasy be shattered when he inevitably learns that we've been lying to him for his entire life," Luke said. "Then he'll never trust us again."

"Yes, he will, don't worry," Lorelai said. "I'll tell you what, you play along with the Santa stuff, and I'll be totally on board if you want to skip the whole creepy Easter Bunny stuff."

Luke exhaled a sigh. "Deal." He gestured toward the door. "Okay. I'm gonna jump in the shower real quick, get the burger and fries smell off me."

Lorelai smiled. "I love that smell." She leaned in and kissed him. "We'll be downstairs."

. . . . .

. . . . .

That evening, while Lorelai and Rory were mingling with Emily and her friends in the living room, Luke was upstairs in the nursery feeding the baby. When Lorelai finally saw them walk down the stairs, she excused herself from the conversation and walked over to them.

"Everything okay?" she asked, running her hand over the baby's head.

"Yeah, he's good," Luke replied. "I warned him about what was happening down here, but he still wanted to come see for himself."

"He's probably hoping I'll slip him one of the apple tarts I've been talking about all week." Lorelai took the baby from Luke and nodded toward the conversation she'd just walked away from. "I'm gonna take him over there to distract them from Rory and give her a break. Can you grab me a few more tarts?"

"Haven't reached your limit yet?"

Lorelai scoffed. "You know I have no tart limit."

Luke smiled. "Be right back."

As Luke headed toward the dessert spread in the dining room, Lorelai walked over to the group of women surrounding Rory.

"Look who wants to join the party," Lorelai announced, and the women instantly began cooing over him. This was the first time the guests were getting to see him awake. When they'd arrived at the house, Joshua was sleeping and they brought him right upstairs to the nursery. He slept through dinner, and then Luke went up to feed him when they heard him crying in the baby monitor.

"Here, I can take him, Lorelai," Emily said, holding her hands out toward the baby, and Lorelai passed Josh to her.

"Oh, how precious is that little suit," a woman said.

"I got it at Neimann Marcus," Emily said.

"So, Mom, are you okay with him for a minute while Rory and I grab fresh drinks?" Lorelai asked.

"Yes, we're fine, take your time," Emily replied, and then proudly declared to the group, "This young man just recently started rolling over last week."

As the women gasped at the news, Lorelai put her arm around Rory and led her away from the group.

When they were out of earshot, Rory gratefully whispered, "They were just starting to ask me about my dating life, so that was perfect timing... thank you."

"You're welcome," Lorelai said, and they went to the bar to get their drinks. "What _is_ going on with your dating life anyway?"

Rory cocked her head to the side. "Mom."

"Just curious... you haven't mentioned anything about it lately."

"Because there's nothing to mention," Rory replied with a shrug.

"Okay. I just wanted to make sure that College Rory knows she can still share things with her mother as she finds herself ensconced in the complicated world of college boys," Lorelai said, and then gritted her teeth as she added, "Many of whom sleep just one short staircase above her."

"When there's something to know, you'll know it," Rory promised.

"Okay, just checking."

Luke walked over with a plate of apple tarts, and Lorelai smiled. "My hero, thank you." She took a bite of one and moaned happily.

Luke glanced over at the other side of the room where Emily was showing off Joshua to her friends. "Wow, he does make a good distraction, huh?"

"Yup. That kid is going to be our savior at these parties," Lorelai replied.

"Where are all the men? I swear there were some here before I went upstairs."

"Oh, right, I forgot," Lorelai said. "My dad wanted me to tell you when you came down that the men are in the study smoking cigars if you want to join them."

Luke cringed a little, then shook his head. "As tempting as that sounds, I think I'm good out here." He checked his watch. "Plus, we should keep an eye on the clock and try to time the ride home with Josh falling asleep. It'll make it much easier for us."

"Yeah, good point," Lorelai said before popping the last piece of apple tart into her mouth. After she had swallowed it down, she said, "See, I told you - a savior. He gave us a reason to be late for cocktail hour, then we get to hand him off to entertain the crowd so we don't have to mingle, and then he gives us an excuse to leave early. Seriously, I should've had a baby years ago."

Rory slowly raised her hand. "Um, you did. Hi, remember me, the first born?"

Lorelai grinned and leaned in to kiss Rory on the forehead. "I do remember my little angel girl, yes." As she pulled back, she added, "But you unfortunately have outgrown the age where I can use your existence for my own selfish benefits."

"I'm very sorry for that," Rory said.

"Apology accepted," Lorelai replied.

The baby started crying in the other room, and Lorelai grimaced. She waited for a moment to see if he would calm down, and when he didn't, she said, "Here." She handed Luke her drink and headed into the living room. "Everything okay?"

"I sat down with him for a moment and he didn't like that," Emily explained. "So I stood back up, but he's still not content."

Lorelai held out her hands. "You want me to take him?"

"Yes, please," Emily replied.

Emily passed the baby over to Lorelai, who cuddled him to her chest and bounced gently with him for a moment. "You're okay, you're fine, no need to cry," Lorelai whispered soothingly, and the baby's cries dissipated.

"My, would you look at that," a woman commented. "My kids would never quiet down that quickly for me."

"Mine would actually cry louder," another woman added.

"Oh, it's not me," Lorelai said. "It's this miraculous new perfume scientists developed called Baby Whisperer... one whiff and it calms them right down." She leaned toward them and lowered her voice. "It may or may not contain some illegal substances, if you know what I mean."

Emily rolled her eyes. "That was a joke," she told the ladies. "She likes to joke."

Lorelai started backing away from them. "I'm just gonna bring him over here for a little bit." She turned and walked back over to Luke and Rory.

"Is he okay?" Luke asked.

"Yeah. I think he was overwhelmed by all the questions about his career goals and love life," Lorelai replied, and then whispered to the baby, "Sorry, I won't abandon you like that in this house again."

"Yes, you will," Luke said with a smirk.

"Yes, I will," Lorelai whispered to the baby. "But I will always come rescue you if you need it."

"She _is_ a good rescuer," Rory confirmed to the baby. "I can vouch for that."

"See? I've been rescuing your sister for almost two decades and she has virtually no psychological side effects," Lorelai said, and she glanced across the hall. "Ooh, I'm gonna go show him the Christmas tree."

"I'm gonna get some more dessert," Rory said. "If I'm not back in five minutes, come put those rescue skills to good use."

"You got it," Lorelai replied.

Rory headed toward the dining room, and Luke walked with Lorelai across the hall to the front room.

Lorelai turned Josh in her arms to face the Christmas tree, then smiled at Luke. "Did I tell you that yesterday I put him in his carseat in front of our tree to look at the lights, and then he fell asleep there?"

Luke smiled. "No, you didn't. That's cute."

Lorelai nodded, grinning. "It was adorable. He was staring up at them in awe for a few minutes, and then he just conked out." She glanced down at Joshua staring at the tree. "Would it be weird to keep our tree up in the living room all year? He really likes the lights."

"Well, at first it would just be quirky and eccentric," Luke replied. "But then after a couple of weeks, the tree would die, so then we'd have a dead tree up in the living room, which would then definitely fall into the weird category, yeah."

Lorelai nodded in agreement. "You're right." She paused a moment. "Should we get an artificial tree to keep up all year long?"

"Or we could just put the lights up on the mantle or something instead of on an actual tree?" he suggested.

Lorelai gasped and then grinned at him. "Much better idea." She talked to Josh for a moment as he started to cutely babble to himself, and then turned back to Luke. "Oh, hey, what's Jess doing for Christmas?"

"No idea."

"Did you invite him over?"

"Not specifically, but I'm sure he knows he's invited."

Lorelai cocked her head to the side with a small smile. "Luke."

"What?"

"He's not just gonna randomly show up for Christmas," Lorelai said. "You need to invite him over."

Luke shrugged. "Okay, I'll mention it when I see him."

"Tell him we'll probably open up our presents early in the morning, but he can come over any time. It'll be completely casual, just a day of eating and watching Christmas movies."

"Got it."

"And also be sure to throw in that we may be in pajamas all day, but that he's not required to wear pajamas himself," Lorelai said. "But he can if he wants to, and he'll get an extra present if they're holiday-themed."

Luke smiled. "I'll let him know."

Lorelai glanced toward the doorway. "Where's Rory? Has it been longer than five minutes?"

"I think so." Luke walked across the foyer and peeked around the corner into the other side of the living room. He saw Rory talking to Emily and her friends, and he walked back over to Lorelai. "She's with the ladies."

Lorelai frowned. "I'm gonna go in there with her in case she needs backup. Here, take over tree patrol," she said as she handed Josh to him. "In about five minutes, come interrupt us and casually suggest that we get going because he's getting tired."

"Okay."

"Oh, and there are some Ziploc bags in the diaper bag, so if you have a chance to grab a few more apple tarts to bring home with us, I will be eternally grateful and will repay you in ways you will find very satisfying."

Luke smirked and playfully saluted her. "Mission accepted."

. . . . .

. . . . .

On Christmas morning, the baby slept a little later than usual, and Lorelai anxiously kept checking on him in the crib, eager to start celebrating his first Christmas.

Luke was in the kitchen making breakfast when she finally brought Josh downstairs dressed in his Santa-suit pajamas. "Look who's finally awake," Lorelai softly announced.

Luke glanced over from the sink where he was washing the frying pan, and he smiled. He turned off the water, grabbed a towel and dried his hands, and walked over to them.

"Hey, buddy," Luke greeted him, and took the baby from Lorelai. "Merry Christmas." He kissed his cheek, and then held him up at eye level. "You slept all night... was that your present to us?"

Lorelai smiled and rubbed the baby's back. "Probably all he could afford on his minimal salary." She nodded toward Rory's closed bedroom door. "Any movement in there yet?"

Luke shook his head. "Not yet, but breakfast is ready."

"Okay, let's go wake up the girl," Lorelai said. She took Josh from Luke, walked to Rory's bedroom door, and tapped on it gently. "Honey?" she called. "Are you up?"

Lorelai heard a slight groan from inside the room, and she pushed open the door. Rory was still in bed, covered by blankets, and Lorelai walked over to her. She held Josh right next to Rory's face and whispered, "Merry Christmas, sister. Don't you wanna get up and play with me? I know I don't do much yet, but I'm awfully cute."

Rory opened her eyes and rolled onto her back, and smiled at Josh. "Happy first Christmas," she said as she squeezed his tiny hand, and then smiled at Lorelai. "Merry Christmas, Mom."

Lorelai leaned in and kissed her cheek. "Merry Christmas, first born. Luke's been slaving over the stove all morning making Christmas breakfast, and I'm pretty sure I saw pancakes shaped like Christmas trees. You ready to get up and come join us?"

Rory nodded and rubbed her eyes. "Yeah. I'll be right out."

"Okay." Lorelai took Josh back out to the kitchen as Rory tiredly climbed out of bed.

. . . . .

. . . . .

Later that morning, they were sitting on the floor in front of the Christmas tree opening presents. Josh was sitting on Luke's lap staring at the lights on the tree as he distractedly chewed on one of the new teething toys he'd gotten as a gift.

When the adults had finished opening their presents, Luke passed Josh to Rory, and reached for the gift he'd saved for the end. "Last one," he announced as he held it out toward Lorelai.

Lorelai took the box from him and, surprised by how light it was, confusedly shook it. "Uh, you may have forgotten to put the present in here, hon." She unwrapped the gift, opened the box, and pulled out some tissue paper to reveal an envelope. She gave Luke a curious look as she pulled it out of the box.

Luke glanced nervously at Rory, who smiled at him, and they both looked back over at Lorelai. She opened the envelope, pulled out a piece of paper, and unfolded it. She read the top of the page. "Travel Itinerary." She looked at Luke with confusion.

"Keep reading," Luke urged.

Lorelai glanced down at the paper and started to read through the details of the 10-day trip that Luke had planned for them with the travel agent. She got halfway through it before looking back up at him. "Luke, what is this?"

"Well, it's phase one of Lorelai and Rory taking over Europe," Luke replied.

Lorelai glanced over at Rory, and then back at Luke. "You booked me and Rory a trip to Europe?"

"Well, not all of Europe," Luke replied. "Just Ireland, the United Kingdom, and France."

"You booked me and Rory a trip to Ireland, the United Kingdom, and France?" Lorelai asked, still having trouble grasping it.

"Yes," Luke replied, unable to tell whether she was happy about it. "I thought since you missed out on the big post-graduation trip that maybe you guys could take a smaller one instead. I ran the idea by Rory and she was on board, so I decided to book it."

Lorelai gasped and looked at Rory. "You knew?"

Rory nodded. "Yeah, and I thought it was a great idea. Whether we see Europe in one long trip or a bunch of short ones, at least we'll still be doing it together."

"And I called Mia to talk to her about it before I booked it," Luke added. "I wanted to make sure she was okay with you taking the time off, and she was fine with it, especially when she found out why. She said you two have been talking about visiting Europe since Rory was a kid."

"Yeah, we have," Lorelai replied.

"She was glad you were finally getting to go," Luke said. He paused for a moment and then took a deep breath before nervously asking, "So... what do you think? Do you like it, hate it? I can't tell, you look like you're somewhere in the middle."

Lorelai shook her head. "No, I'm not in the middle at all... I love it, it's amazing. I'm just surprised, I wasn't expecting anything like this, so I'm just kind of speechless."

"A rare Lorelai Gilmore state," Rory commented.

"I know ten days might seem like a long time to be away from him," Luke said, gesturing to Josh in Rory's lap. "That was the one big factor I was worried about."

"He was," Rory confirmed. "He almost scrapped the whole plan because of that."

"Is that gonna be a dealbreaker?" Luke asked. "Because I can still cancel the trip."

"Keep in mind, it's three months away," Rory pointed out. "It's not like we're leaving tomorrow and we're whipping you away from him without adequate pre-trip bonding time."

Lorelai nodded. "No, yeah, it'll be fine... I have time to mentally prepare for that. And he'll be here with his Daddy, so I know he'll be in good hands." She smiled at Luke. "I love the present, really... thank you, hon. This is amazing."

Luke smiled. "Good." He pointed toward the paper. "And you'll notice you're staying in actual hotels - none of that hostel crap."

Lorelai smiled. "I noticed that, and I'm very much okay with it."

After they cleaned up the presents, Luke went into the kitchen to start preparing Christmas lunch. A few minutes later, Lorelai joined him, announcing, "As delicious as your meal might be, Josh has opted in favor of the baby cereal with a side of strained carrots. I apologize that our son is so ungrateful for your hard work in the kitchen."

Luke smiled. "One day he'll appreciate me."

As Lorelai started preparing the baby's dish at the counter, Luke walked over to her. He stood beside her and rubbed her back. "You sure you're okay with the trip?" he asked. "We can cancel it if you have doubts about it."

Lorelai looked over at him. "There are no doubts," she assured him. "I wanna go, I'm really excited about it."

"You're sure?"

Lorelai nodded her confirmation. "I'm very sure. The surest of sures. Like I said, it was just a surprise, that's all... a big one. An incredible one. I needed a minute to wrap my mind around it."

"I probably should've talked to you first before doing something like that," Luke said. "Maybe that's not the kind of thing you surprise someone with, especially when it means I'm forcing you away from your son for ten days. That's something you should've probably had a chance to weigh in on."

Lorelai put the jar of baby food down and turned to face him. "Okay, two things. One - Luke, hon, I _love_ the gift. It's perfect. You did a wonderful thing, and frankly, it's gonna be hard for you to ever top this."

Luke smiled. "Okay, good."

Lorelai stepped closer to him and put her hands on his shoulders. "And two - you're overlooking the fact that the baby isn't the only person I'm gonna be away from for ten days. You keep mentioning how hard it might be to be away from _him,_ not even realizing that I'm already thinking about how hard it'll be to be away from _you_." She kissed him softly before adding, "You do realize that I'm pretty fond of you, right?"

Luke smiled and shrugged nonchalantly. "I had a suspicion."

She wrapped her arms around his neck. "I can't remember the last time we were apart for that long."

"Me, either."

"I guess we don't have to think about that yet. It's still a few months away." She stared at him for a moment. "You know, you're really getting the shaft in this situation."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Rory and I get to go out and have this awesome trip while you're stuck at home dealing with all this extra responsibility as sole caretaker of Joshy, not to mention being apart from your extremely attractive wife. I mean, you put in all the work to make this happen and all you're getting out of it is the bill."

Luke shrugged. "I get to help my girls start an adventure they've been talking about for years... I get to see them excited and happy. That's a lot more than just the bill."

Lorelai's lips curved into a smile. "You really are the most selfless man in the world, you know that?" She leaned in and kissed him passionately as his arms wrapped around her.

The baby started to cry in the living room, and Rory called, "I think he needs to be changed!" A moment later, she added, "Yeah, he definitely needs to be changed!"

Lorelai pulled back from Luke and called, "Be right there." She smiled at him. "Duty calls... literally. But I love the gift, and I love _you_."

Luke smiled. "I love you, too." Lorelai gave him another kiss, and then she headed to the living room.

Lorelai took the crying baby from Rory and brought him to the changing table. She started to change him, talking to him softly to calm him down.

Rory retrieved the itinerary for their trip and started reading through it. Lorelai glanced over at her and asked, "So, did you help plan it?"

"No. He just asked me about the dates, and how many countries he thought would be good for ten days. The rest he did on his own at the travel agency." Rory held up the paper. "And it looks pretty good to me."

Lorelai nodded in agreement. "It does."

"So, you're really okay with it, right?" Rory asked as she put the paper back into the envelope. "When he mentioned it, it just made so much sense... shorter trips will be much easier in terms of taking time off and being away from home."

Lorelai nodded again. "Definitely. In my mind, the big trip was on an indefinite hold, but it hadn't even crossed my mind that there could be other options out there. Thankfully, someone else was thinking outside the box."

"It's gonna be amazing," Rory declared, smiling. "I can't wait."

"Me, either," Lorelai said, and then she lifted Joshua up. "Okay, I'm gonna go feed him in the kitchen, and then we should probably call my parents in the Vineyard to offer some holiday cheer, and then... what do you think... _A Christmas Story_? _Christmas Vacation? It's a Wonderful Life_?"

"All of the above," Rory replied.

Lorelai smiled. "Sounds good."

. . . . .

. . . . .

A few weeks later, on a Saturday in mid-January, Lorelai arrived home after having spent most of the evening running a party at the inn. She quietly walked into the living room and found Luke on the couch, his eyes closed, his legs propped up on the coffee table, the baby asleep on his chest.

She grinned at the cute sight and walked over to the couch. "Luke," she whispered. "You awake?"

"Mmhmm," he murmured in response, and he opened his eyes to look at her. "Hey. How'd it go?"

Lorelai sat down next to him. "It was good. Everything went smoothly." She ran her hand over Josh's back. "How was he? Any problems?"

"Nope. All smooth here, too." Luke beckoned her toward him with his head. "Come closer."

Lorelai leaned in for a kiss, and then asked, "You want me to take him upstairs and put him to bed?"

Luke dropped his feet from the coffee table to the floor. "Nah, I got him. I'll go put him in the crib."

He stood up, and as he headed for the staircase, Lorelai asked, "You going to bed? I'm gonna make some tater tots... I've been craving them all night."

"I'll be back down," he replied as he started to ascend the stairs. "I have to talk to you about something."

Lorelai frowned. "Way to ruin pre-tater tot time by making me spend the next two minutes paranoid about what you need to talk about."

"A little mystery is good in a relationship," he countered.

"Nuh uh," Lorelai said. "Haven't you ever watched a Lifetime movie? Mystery is bad, very bad."

"Go make your tots," he said from the top of the steps.

Lorelai headed into the kitchen, turned on the oven, and dumped some tater tots onto a sheet pan. She slid it into the oven as Luke joined her, and they both sat down at the table.

"Okay, so, what is it?" Lorelai asked him.

"Jess called when you were gone to tell me that someone showed up at the diner tonight looking for me," Luke replied, and then he paused for a moment before declaring, "His mother."

Lorelai gasped. "What? Your sister is in town?"

"Yeah, she came into the diner looking for me. When Caesar told her I wasn't there, she asked to go upstairs and wait for me, and he told her I didn't live there anymore," Luke explained. "She introduced herself, he realized it was Jess' mom, called upstairs to tell him, and he came down to talk to her."

Lorelai winced a little. "How'd that go?"

"He said he was a little cold toward her at the beginning, but he loosened up by the end," Luke replied. "Even took her upstairs to show her the apartment. She asked where I was, but he didn't wanna just give out our address and have her show up, so he told her he would give me her number so I could reach out to her if I wanted."

"She's up to date on your life, though, right?" Lorelai asked. "I mean, she knows you're married... we sent her an invitation to the wedding."

"And we never heard back, so who knows... maybe she never got it. Maybe she wasn't living at that address anymore."

"But you called her to invite her to Jess' graduation ceremony... you talked to her then, right?"

"I had to leave a message," Luke reminded her. "I mentioned the ceremony, told her we were expecting a baby in July, but who knows if she got the message. Never heard back about that one either." He let out a sigh.

Lorelai frowned. "You've been trying, hon... you were doing all you could to keep her in your life and make sure she knew what was going on. There wasn't much more you could've done besides getting in a car and driving all over the place to track her down in person."

"Yeah, I guess. Jess says she's got a new gig that has her out on the road a lot."

"Bounty hunter?"

"Something to do with Renaissance fairs. And she's gonna be in town for a few days, staying with one of her old high school friends... so I was thinking about inviting her over for dinner tomorrow," Luke said. "Is that okay?"

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, definitely, we should have her over. She should meet your family."

Luke was quiet for a minute before he softly said, "She's not a bad person, my sister. She's just... she's flighty, you know? She's had some rough times, she doesn't always make the best decisions... but she's not a bad person."

Lorelai gave him a reassuring smile and reached over to squeeze his hand. "I know."

"I don't want you to think that because she shipped her kid off to me that she's some evil mother."

Lorelai adamantly shook her head. "Not at all. She did what she thought was best for him. An evil mother wouldn't have even considered trying to give him a better life."

Luke nodded. "Yeah."

"And hey... it was the right decision, huh?" Lorelai continued. "Look at Jess now... he graduated high school, he's had a job for almost 2 years, he's going to college. You changed that kid's life, Luke. You _gave_ him a life. So, maybe your sister didn't always make the best decisions over the years... but she did pretty good with that one."

Luke shrugged a little. "I guess."

Lorelai smiled and wagged her finger at him. "Don't be humble, take your props... you're amazing," she told him. "And call your sister... talk to her... invite her over. Maybe she's finally trying to get back in your life, back in Jess' life."

Luke nodded. "I will, I'll call her."

. . . . .

. . . . .

The next night, Luke was in the kitchen cooking dinner while Lorelai was upstairs getting dressed. Josh was lying on the bed, recently fed and freshly changed, contently occupying himself with a rattle.

Lorelai heard the doorbell ring and gasped softly. "You hear that, honey? That means your Aunt Liz is here... we're gonna get to meet another family member today."

Lorelai finished getting dressed and headed downstairs with Josh, and walked toward the voices coming from the kitchen. Luke was standing at the stove tending to the food and a woman was leaning against the back door talking to him.

Luke smiled when he saw Lorelai and Josh enter the room. "Hey." He put down the wooden spoon in his hand and waved them over.

Lorelai walked over to him and Luke put his arm around her. "Lorelai, this is my sister, Liz," Luke said. "Liz, this is Lorelai, and this is Josh."

Liz's face lit up and she shook her head in disbelief. "Man, I still can't believe you have a wife and a son!"

Lorelai smiled. "Here we are, in the flesh." She extended her hand toward Liz. "It's so nice to finally meet you."

Liz stepped closer and threw her arms around Lorelai. "It's nice to meet you, too!" She pulled back from the hug and leaned down to greet Josh. "And look at this little guy. He's perfect."

"Do you wanna hold him?" Lorelai asked. "He just ate, so he's pretty happy right now. He takes after me in that way."

"Oh, yeah, I'd love to hold him," Liz replied excitedly, and then looked at Luke. "Is that okay?"

"Of course it's okay," he replied. "The food's gonna take a little while longer, let's go sit in the living room."

"Can you grab me a water bottle?" Lorelai asked Luke, and then asked Liz, "Do you want a drink? We've got water, beer, soda, coffee... baby formula, if you're into that."

Liz smiled. "You're funny," she replied, and then said to Luke, "She's pretty _and_ funny... you hit the jackpot."

Luke smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I did. What can I get you to drink?"

"I'll take a beer," Liz said.

The girls walked to the living room with the baby, and Luke grabbed the drinks from the fridge. He brought them in and set them on the coffee table, then sat down in the armchair. Lorelai was on the couch next to Liz, who was holding Josh and staring down at him with a big smile.

"It's been a long time since I've held a baby," Liz said. "I'm surprised I still remember how to do it."

"It's like riding a bike," Lorelai said. "I went about 19 years between kids and all that baby stuff came back to me pretty fast."

Liz's eyes widened as she looked up from the baby. "Wait, that means... you have a 19 year old kid?"

"Yes... her name's Rory, she goes to Yale," Lorelai replied.

Liz looked Lorelai up and down. "How the hell do you have a 19 year old kid? You look so young."

Lorelai smiled. "I started earlier than most... had her when I was still in high school."

"Wow," Liz said. "Were you married before?"

"Nope. Second kid," Lorelai said as she ran her hand over Josh's hair, and then gestured to Luke and added, "But first husband."

"Got it," Liz said.

"Okay, saying 'first husband' makes it sound like there's gonna be more after me," Luke pointed out.

"Sorry... first and only husband," Lorelai corrected herself, smiling at Luke. "Better?"

"Thank you," he said.

"And the first kid goes to Yale, huh?" Liz said. "That's pretty cool. Hopefully I can meet her next time."

"Yeah, hopefully," Lorelai agreed.

Liz stared down at the baby for a few moments, and then looked at Lorelai. "So, you guys gonna have more kids?"

Lorelai's eyes widened at the question. "Oh, well, uh..."

"Liz, you can't ask stuff like that," Luke admonished her. "That's personal."

"Okay, okay, sorry," Liz said. "I was just wondering."

"So, uh, I heard you got to catch up with Jess," Lorelai said.

Liz grinned. "Yeah. He looks so good. He told me he's going to college, working at the bookstore, living in that apartment all by himself... he's suddenly all grown up. He was a kid last I saw him, and now he's like... an adult."

"Yeah, kids do that, they grow up into adults," Luke said with a nod.

"I knew you could do it," Liz said, smiling adoringly at Luke. "I knew you could help him. I'm so grateful for everything you've done for him. He just seems so happy now... he wasn't like that when he was with me. He was always angry." She exhaled a little sigh. "It was hard to send him away, but I knew he needed to get away from me. I was bringing him down."

"You weren't bringing him down," Luke said. "He just... he needed some space to get on the right track. He needed a new environment. And it wasn't always smooth sailing, but he's doing good now."

"Yeah, seems that way," Liz said with a nod. "Thank you, really."

"You're welcome."

"Hey, speaking of sailing, you ever finish Dad's boat?" Liz asked him.

Luke's eyes widened with surprise. "Wow... haven't even thought about that in years. No, it's just been sitting in Mrs. Thompson's garage."

Lorelai narrowed her eyes. "What boat? You have a boat? Since when does my husband have a boat?"

"Well, I don't know that you could actually call it a boat," Luke replied. "It's a boat _shape_."

"Our dad started building this boat years ago, and Luke would work on it with him all the time," Liz explained. "It was their special thing."

"And then my dad got sick and it's been sitting in that garage untouched ever since," Luke finished. "Kept paying Mrs. Thompson to store it for me, thinking I'd work on it again someday, but never did anything with it."

"That's nice that you and your dad had that," Lorelai said.

"It could be a fun project to work on someday with this little guy," Liz said, nodding toward Josh. "You could carry on the tradition of father-son boat building."

Lorelai gasped softly. "Aw, that would be so cute."

"Yeah, maybe," Luke said. "Or maybe we'll scrap the boat and start our own project, we'll see."

When the baby started getting fussy, Liz handed him over to Lorelai. She stood up with him and bounced him a little to calm him down.

"I saw some signs in town for the winter carnival," Liz said. "Looks like I just missed it."

"Yeah, it was a few days ago," Lorelai replied. "It was great."

"If you like carnivals," Luke muttered.

"Which I do," Lorelai declared with a grin. "So, for me, it was great. Josh had fun, too."

"He slept in his stroller half the time, and when he was awake, was completely oblivious to what was going on around him," Luke said. "That's him having fun?"

"Well, he didn't cry or whine or complain," Lorelai said. "So yes, in baby terms, that was him having fun."

"I'm glad the town is still doing all those crazy events," Liz said. "Wouldn't be the same without 'em."

"No, it wouldn't," Lorelai agreed, and then gestured toward Luke. "Your brother and I differ in our opinions of town events, but he usually puts up with them for my sake."

Liz smiled. "He's a good guy, that brother of mine." She picked up her beer and took a long sip before she said, "So, speaking of guys... I met someone."

Luke couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Oh, geez."

"Stop, he's a good one, this guy," Liz insisted. "I'm telling you... he's nice, he treats me right, he's supportive. He helps me sell my jewelry out on the Renaissance Fair circuit. He's amazing. You'd like him."

"Uh huh," Luke said doubtfully. "I've never liked a guy you've dated before, so I can't imagine I'm gonna start now."

"Luke," Lorelai said, cocking her head at him.

"I'm telling you, I picked good this time," Liz told him. "I don't let guys treat me like crap anymore." She turned to Lorelai. "You know how you go through that phase where you just hate being single so much that you keep a guy around just to have one, even if they treat you real bad?"

"Um... uh..." Lorelai stammered, unsure of how to politely respond to something she could not relate to. "Well, I'm sure a lot of people do that."

"I grew out of that, finally, and realized I needed to put _me_ first, and I needed a guy who would put me first, too," Liz proudly declared. "And I found him."

"Good for you," Lorelai said sincerely, and then looked at Luke. "Isn't that good, hon?"

"Yup, that's good," Luke agreed with a nod. "Very good. Happy for you."

"I'm gonna bring him back with me next month for my high school reunion," Liz said. "You'll get to meet him, and I promise you'll love him."

"I'm sure we will," Lorelai said.

"Can't wait," Luke muttered, and then stood up from the chair. "Dinner should be ready."

. . . . .

. . . . .

That evening, after they said goodbye to Liz, Luke and Lorelai headed into the kitchen to clean up from dinner. Lorelai cleared off the table and Luke started to load dishes into the dishwasher.

"So, what did you think?" Luke asked her. "You can be honest."

Lorelai smiled. "I think she's great, Luke. She's really nice, and she seems really happy with where her life is at right now."

"Yeah, she does," Luke agreed.

Lorelai grinned as she added, "And she adores you so much. The way she looks at you, it's like you're a superhero."

Luke smirked. "Not true."

"It's completely true," Lorelai said as she walked over to him. "It's really sweet, Luke. She looks up to you and respects you and trusts you a lot. I can tell she really wants your approval." Lorelai ran her hands up his arms and rested them on his shoulders. "You should maybe try to give it to her once in awhile."

Luke exhaled a sigh. "Was I being a jerk?"

Lorelai shook her head. "No, not a jerk, you're just protective. I don't think you trust her to make good decisions yet."

"A lot of history there," he reminded her.

"I know, I get it," Lorelai said with a nod. "I'm not gonna pretend to know what kinds of things went on in the past with her. But I would just... the next time we see her... be open to the fact that she might be changing for the better and might start making good choices. Just a little bit of positive reinforcement can really help someone who's trying to change, you know?"

Luke nodded. "I'll try."

"Thank you." Lorelai kissed him, and then pulled back from him. "Now, why is this the first time your wife is hearing about your boat?"

"Because I totally forgot about it," he replied honestly. "I haven't looked at it in years, not once. I used to stop by and pay Mrs. Thompson every month to store it, but then two or three years ago, I decided to just pay her for a couple years up front so I wouldn't have to worry about it. It really just slipped my mind that I even had it."

Lorelai nodded. "I get it." She eyed him curiously for a moment. "Any other secrets or modes of transportation hidden around town that you wanna tell me about?"

"Not that I can remember right now, but I'll let you know if I think of anything else."

Lorelai smiled. "Good, thank you." She gestured toward the living room. "I'm gonna go check on the boy."

"Okay."

Lorelai headed to the living room to make sure Josh was still asleep in his baby swing. Luke finished loading the dishwasher, then walked to the living room.

Lorelai had started to straighten up the room, and Luke watched her for a minute before he said, "Can I ask you something?"

"Yup." Lorelai picked up a onesie from the coffee table and sniffed it. "Is this clean or dirty?"

"Uh, I'm not sure," Luke replied.

Lorelai picked up a few toys and put them on the shelf of the changing table. "Oh, don't forget, we have his six month checkup on Tuesday," she told him, and then she frowned. "I think he's getting a couple of shots, the poor boy."

"Bummer." Luke shifted his feet and shoved his hands in his pockets. "So, listen... I need to ask you something kind of important."

Lorelai stopped cleaning and looked over at him. "Okay."

"Um... I've been thinking about what Liz asked earlier," Luke started, and then paused for a second before asking, " _Do_ we want more kids?"

Lorelai was surprised by the serious question, and gestured to the baby swing as she jokingly replied, "Geez, I literally just gave you one. Can't a girl get a break?"

"Lorelai, I'm serious," he said. "We talked about having _one_ , but we never really talked about what came afterwards. We should discuss that at some point, right?"

"Yes, we should," Lorelai replied with a nod. "At some point, we should discuss it."

"But I'm guessing that 'some point' is not right now?"

Lorelai shrugged a little. "I don't know. I think maybe we should wait and see where our heads are at when we're not in this weird zone of 'new baby euphoria meets sleep deprivation and exhaustion'," she told him. "Because depending on which side of the zone I'm in, the decision could vary from one day to the next. Hell, from one hour to the next."

"Okay." Luke paused for a moment, started to say something else, but stopped himself.

"Go on," she prompted him.

Luke walked over to her. "Well, if you had to answer right now, what would you say? It's not binding, I'm not gonna take this as your final answer... I'm just wondering."

"Right now, at this particular moment..." Lorelai glanced over at Josh in the baby swing and stared at him for a few seconds, and then looked back at Luke. "I would say yes."

Luke's eyes widened slightly. "Yes?"

"Yes. I could see our family getting a little bigger."

Luke smiled and he slowly nodded. "Okay... good to know."

"So, judging by your reaction, I guess you're on the same page?" she asked him, then quickly added, "I know the page could turn for either of us at any time... but right now, at this particular moment, on this particular Sunday in January, you feel the same way?"

"Yeah... I do," Luke confirmed.

Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Okay... good to know." She gestured with both hands to the baby swing. "But let's focus our attention on this one for a little while before we discuss throwing another one into the mix, okay?"

"Yeah, of course," he agreed, and he rested his hands on her hips. "You'll let me know when you're ready to talk about it?"

Lorelai wrapped her arms around his neck, kissed him softly, and then promised, "You'll be the first, and only one, to know."

. . . . .

. . . . .

 **To be continued...**

.

 **Author's Note:** Thanks for reading! And thanks to those of you who left reviews or sent messages to confirm that there actually _are_ people reading and I'm not alone on this LL journey. :) Happy Holidays!


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

. . . . .

. . . . .

The following Friday, Lorelai arrived at the Gilmore house for dinner by herself, and when Emily answered the door, she narrowed her eyes. "Why are you alone?"

"Sorry, I meant to call and tell you it would just be me," Lorelai said as she walked into the house. "Josh isn't feeling well and he's been super cranky today, so Luke stayed home with him tonight."

"Oh, that's quite a shame," Emily said sympathetically, but then she wagged her finger at Lorelai. "It's from that daycare. This is the second time he's been sick since he started going there."

"Thanks for keeping a tally, Mom," Lorelai said as she took off her coat.

"He wasn't getting sick when he was being watched at home," Emily pointed out. "That was working out just fine, I don't know why you had to go and change things."

"That was a short term solution with temporary volunteers because the daycare didn't have an opening yet," Lorelai said as she hung her coat on the coat rack. "Having someone watch him at home isn't an option anymore."

"Is it because of money? Because your father and I can help out," Emily said. "We'll find a private caretaker for him, someone that can come to your house every day so he won't be exposed to all those germs. I'll ask around, see if anyone in the DAR can recommend someone."

"It's good to expose him to germs, it helps build up his immune system," Lorelai replied. "He's fine in daycare, Mom, but if we do find ourselves looking for a good DAR-approved nanny, I'll let you know."

Emily eyed Lorelai's face for a moment. "You look very tired."

"Well, that's because I _am_ ," Lorelai said with a shrug.

"Well, I need you to fake not being tired because your grandmother's here," Emily whispered harshly. "And if you're tired, it's my fault."

"Well, I'll be sure to tell her that it's _not_ your fault and that she can blame the baby that came out of me 6 months ago for sucking up all of my energy," Lorelai told her. "Rory's in there, right? I saw her car outside."

"Yes, she's in with your father and your grandmother. Let's go," Emily said, and as she led her down the hall, she whispered, "Smile."

"Too tired to smile," Lorelai muttered.

"Lorelai's here," Emily announced as they walked into the living room, and everyone looked over at them.

"I am indeed here," Lorelai confirmed with a wave. "Hi."

"Hi, Mom," Rory said.

"Lorelai," Richard greeted her with a nod.

"Hello, Lorelai," Trix greeted her.

"This is a nice surprise, Gran," Lorelai replied as she sat down on the couch next to Rory. "How have you been?"

"Very well, thank you," Trix asked, and she glanced toward the entryway. "Are you here alone? No husband with you this evening? No baby?"

"No, it's just me tonight," Lorelai replied.

Trix looked at Emily. "Didn't you tell her that I was coming? Of course she would've brought the rest of the family had she known I would be here considering I haven't seen my great-grandson in several weeks."

"He's not feeling well, Gran, so he couldn't make it," Lorelai explained.

"Oh, what a shame," Richard said as he walked to the drink cart. "Would you like a drink?"

"White wine, please," Lorelai replied.

"How did he get sick?" Trix asked. "He must not have enough of the Gilmore side in him because Gilmores never get sick."

"He just picked up a little cold at daycare," Lorelai explained. "It's no big deal."

"Daycare? Your child was not in daycare the last time I saw him," Trix recalled. "This is new?"

"Yes, he just started a few weeks ago," Lorelai replied, and as Richard handed Lorelai her drink, she added, "Thanks, Dad."

"Why is your child suddenly in daycare?" Trix asked.

"Well, because Luke and I both like working, and we heard it's illegal to leave the baby home alone, so... this was our option."

"I see," Trix said. "Private care at home is much better for the child, Lorelai."

"That's exactly what I said," Emily piped up, and received a stern look from Lorelai for ganging up on her with Gran. "He's gotten sick twice since he started there and I've told her he should be cared for at home."

"Well, clearly you did not say it loud enough because it didn't stick, did it?" Trix retorted to Emily. "You should've put an end to this immediately."

Emily glanced around the room for a moment as she decided her best course of action. Finally, with a forced smile, she said, "Excuse me, I'm going to go check on dinner," and she quickly headed out of the room.

"And I also see that Emily did not teach you that when a child is sick, a mother should stay by its side until it is well," Trix said. "You should never leave a sick child, especially not a sick _baby_."

"He's fine, Gran," Lorelai said. "He's at home with his very capable father tonight."

"A baby naturally feels more nurtured by its mother, Lorelai," Trix said. "A father simply cannot provide the same care and affection."

"Well, I'd rather not get into a lengthy debate about how children without mothers are still able to receive the care and affection they need from their fathers and/or other caregivers," Lorelai calmly said. "So, I'll just say that the baby got plenty of motherly nurturing today, and his father can hold down the nurturing fort for a few hours."

"Well, I guess we'll just have to hope this won't delay his recovery process," Trix said.

Rory cleared her throat. "So, um, Mom, I was just telling Gran about our trip."

"Oh, would you look at that, Rory knows how to politely change the subject without skipping a beat," Trix remarked. "Very good, young lady, you've been taught well."

"Yes, we're heading to Europe in the Spring, just Rory and I," Lorelai said. "We're really excited about it."

"We've been talking about visiting Europe for as long as I can remember," Rory said.

"Travel is very important for a young girl," Richard said. "Or anyone, for that matter."

"That it is," Trix agreed, and then said to Lorelai, "And I suppose while you two are in Europe, the baby will be..."

"Home with Luke," Lorelai supplied. "Who I've previously mentioned is a quite capable father, so the baby will be completely fine."

"Well, I suppose we'll find out, won't we?" Trix pointedly replied.

"We will," Lorelai agreed. "But maybe not for a few years until after the devastating, irreversible long term effects of a father lovingly caring for his own child kick in."

Trix ignored her comment, and then shifted both her tone and the subject. "And you're still working at that same inn?"

"Yup, the Independence Inn," Lorelai replied.

"I recall you saying that you wanted to branch out and start your own inn someday," Trix said. "Is that still the goal to which you are working towards?"

"Yes, with my friend Sookie," Lorelai confirmed. "We're not quite ready to undertake that project yet since both of us just had babies, but hopefully within the next few years."

"They even have a site in mind already," Rory added. "There's this old abandoned inn in town called the Dragonfly that they're hopefully gonna put new life into one day. They've got a plan."

"Well, good. Don't lose sight of it if it's still your dream. If you're going to continue working while raising a family, make sure you're doing something that you love," Trix said. "Otherwise, you will carry the negativity of work home to your family, and that's not good for anyone."

"Good advice," Lorelai said sincerely. "Thanks, Gran."

Trix looked over at Richard. "Dear, might you escort me to the powder room so I can freshen up before we eat?"

"Sure, Trix," Richard said, jumping up to help her.

"Excuse me, ladies," Trix said to the girls, and Richard walked her out of the living room.

When they were alone, Rory gave Lorelai a sympathetic frown. "Geez, since when did you replace Grandma as the family piñata?"

"Since that time I left my sick child alone with his father, apparently," Lorelai said as she slumped back against the couch. "That was not what I was expecting tonight, nor was I caffeinated enough to deal with it."

"Sorry," Rory said, and then she patted her knee. "But you handled it relatively maturely."

" _Relatively_?"

"Well, there were a few comments I would've left out."

"I did my best," Lorelai replied, and then she sat back up straight on the couch and patted Rory's knee. "But forget all that... how are you? What's going on?"

"I'm good," Rory replied. "School's good... I like my new classes, but they definitely seem like they'll be a lot of work. I think Paris is dating a professor. I was thinking about getting an on-campus job to get a little income flowing in, but I don't know how well that'll balance out with the heavy class workload."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa... go back," Lorelai said, her eyes wide with surprise. "A professor?"

Rory nodded, and then lowered her voice. "We can't talk about it here, Grandpa knows him, but I'll tell you later. Remind me to tell you about Lane, too."

Lorelai's eyes widened. "Is she okay?"

"Yeah, she's just changing up her life a little," Rory replied. "We'll talk out front in the car before I head back to Yale."

Lorelai gave her an intrigued look. "Okay. I want all the details."

"You got it," Rory replied. "Is Josh okay?"

"Yeah, just another cold, it's been making him really cranky," Lorelai said with a sigh. "He wouldn't let me put him in the crib last night, he would only sleep if I was holding him, so I just slept in the rocking chair with him cuddled up on my chest all night."

Rory frowned. "Did you actually get any sleep yourself?"

"Not really. And I stayed home with him today and he was very clingy and it was just..." She sighed again and shook her head. "Well, let's just say, Mommy has had more enjoyable parenting days than today."

"I'm sorry," Rory said sympathetically. "Hopefully he'll feel better soon."

Emily returned to the room and both girls looked up at her.

"Well, well, well, look who's back," Lorelai said. "Gee, that was a long time checking on dinner, Mom."

"Were you hiding, Grandma?" Rory teasingly asked her.

"No, I was not hiding," Emily replied firmly.

"Yes, you were hiding out in the kitchen so Gran could focus her attacks on me instead," Lorelai said. "You left your daughter in a cage with a wolf. Don't you know you're supposed to protect your young and not sacrifice them? How am I ever going to forgive my own mother for doing something like that?"

"I'll send you home with the leftover chocolate mousse cake we're having for dessert," Emily offered.

"You're forgiven," Lorelai confirmed.

"Dinner's ready, let's go sit at the table," Emily said, and then waved the girls toward the dining room, quietly adding, "The faster we eat, the faster she'll go home."

. . . . .

. . . . .

Later that night, as Lorelai was walking across the yard to the front door, she could hear Josh crying from inside, and she hurried into the house. "Luke?" she called. "I'm home!"

"I'm making his bottle," Luke called from the kitchen. "Can you get him from the swing?"

Lorelai placed her purse and the container of leftover cake on the desk, and quickly scooped Josh out of the swing. "Shh, shh, shh," she whispered as she cradled him against her chest. "It's okay, you're okay... you're fine, honey." She kissed his head and bounced him a little until he started to calm down. "There you go, you're okay."

Luke walked into the room with the bottle. "Here you go," he said, holding it out to her.

Lorelai sat down in the armchair and placed the bottle to Josh's lips. When he contently started sucking on it, she looked up at Luke with a smile. "Hi, there."

Luke smiled. "Hi." He leaned down to kiss her, and then sat on the ottoman in front of her chair.

"Was he like this all night?" Lorelai asked.

Luke shook his head. "No, he wasn't too bad. He just wanted to be held, which is why he screamed when I had to put him down to make the bottle."

"He's eating late," Lorelai commented, and then looked down at Josh. "Is your schedule all out of whack because you're sick? I think so. I think we need to get you back into whack." She looked over at Luke with a frown. "Poor boy."

"Yeah, he's having a rough day," Luke said, then he rubbed her knee as he asked, "What about you? How was dinner?"

Lorelai leaned her head against the back of the chair. "Ugh. Well, my grandmother was there."

Luke winced a little. "Uh oh. Was she tough on Emily?"

"Oh, not just Emily," Lorelai replied, shaking her head. "Today I discovered that I, too, am not immune from her wrath."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, first of all, she pretty much told me I'm a bad mother for leaving my baby when he's sick."

Luke narrowed his eyes. "Did she know he was at home with his _father_ and that you didn't leave him with some strangers off the street?"

"Yes, I told her that," Lorelai replied. "But that just led to the second of all, which is that fathers cannot provide the nurturing that sick children need as well as their mothers can."

"Oh, my God."

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Yeah, tell me about it. Oh, and both she and my mother think we're evil for sending him to daycare... which might be the only thing my mother and Gran have ever agreed on."

Luke's eyes widened. "Geez. What happened? She's usually nice to you."

Lorelai shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe she just wanted to mix it up a little and try to help push me toward therapy in case my mother wasn't succeeding on her own."

"Sorry you had to deal with that," Luke said as he affectionately squeezed her knee.

"It's okay. It's just good to be home." Lorelai glanced down at the baby, and then back at Luke. "So, I have a question for you, and I want you to be honest... really honest."

"Okay."

"Are you concerned at all about me going to Europe and you having him by yourself for ten days?" Lorelai asked.

Luke shook his head without hesitation. "No, I'm not. If I was, I wouldn't have planned for you to take a trip to Europe in the first place," he pointed out.

Lorelai nodded. "Okay, I just wanted to make sure."

Luke eyed her for a second, and then asked, "Are _you_ concerned about me having him by myself for ten days?"

"Not at all," Lorelai replied, shaking her head.

"You sure?

"Yes. I just wanted us to have a discussion about it because we haven't yet, and it's only like six weeks away."

Luke cocked his head to the side. "You can tell me if you have concerns, I'm not gonna get offended or anything. We should talk about 'em before you go because you're not gonna have a good time if you're worried about him."

"I don't have concerns," she told him. "One, because you're an amazing father and you've been completely hands-on with him since day one and you are a hundred percent capable of handling him on your own. And two, I know you're gonna have the entire town watching out for you every second I'm gone, so if you did need any help for any reason whatsoever, it's gonna be readily available."

Luke smiled. "True."

The baby finished eating, and Lorelai shifted him to her shoulder to burp him. "Oh, Rory gave me a few bits of friend gossip tonight... both Paris and Lane have some interesting things going on."

"Like what?"

"Well, Paris is apparently dating a much old professor," Lorelai said, and then her eyes widened as she added, "Like, my dad's age."

Luke's eyes widened. "Wow, that's quite an age difference."

"Yup."

Luke groaned. "Ugh, and another thing to worry about with Rory. In addition to college guys, she might also have professors preying on her, too?"

Lorelai frowned at him. "Tsk, come on, I don't wanna add that to my stress list."

"Sorry. What's up with Lane?"

Lorelai's face softened. "Aw, that one's a little sadder... she decided she doesn't want to go to that Adventist college that her mom was making her go to... she wants to focus on her band and work toward a career in music."

"That's not so sad," Luke replied with a shrug. "She's following her dream... she's gotta do what makes her happy."

"Yeah, but Mrs. Kim doesn't feel the same way," Lorelai said, shaking her head. "She told Lane she has to move out if she drops out of school."

Luke's eyes widened. "Whoa."

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah... see? Sad."

Luke nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that's rough. Lane's a good kid."

"I know. Rory said she's trying to rent an apartment with some of her bandmates. Plus, she's gotta find a job. Poor girl has a lot hitting her all at once."

Luke was quiet for a few seconds as he pondered something, and then asked, "You think she'd wanna try waitressing?"

Lorelai looked surprised. "Really? Since when are you looking for someone?"

"Remember, Nancy told me she's leaving at the end of the month?"

"Oh, right, she's moving to New York with her boyfriend," Lorelai recalled.

"You think Lane would want the gig?"

"Yeah, I think she would love to work for someone she knows, where she'll know the customers," Lorelai said. "Might make things a little less overwhelming for her. And you know she'll be a good worker, she's a responsible girl."

Luke nodded in agreement. "Tell Rory to have her come talk to me."

Lorelai smiled. "Okay. I will, thanks." She had been rubbing the baby's back as they talked, and she stopped when she realized he'd fallen asleep. Lorelai kissed the top of his head and whispered, "Are you gonna actually let me put you in the crib tonight?"

"If he doesn't, he can sleep on me this time," Luke told her. "You aren't gonna go sleepless two nights in a row."

Lorelai smiled appreciatively. "Thank you." She lifted her feet onto the ottoman and said, "Can you take these off for me?"

Luke unzipped her knee-high boots and removed them for her, placing them on the floor next to the chair. He placed her feet on his lap and began rubbing them, and she sighed contently.

She closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the chair. "That feels good."

Luke continued quietly for a few moments before he said, "Okay, I believe you that you don't have any concerns about me watching him when you're gone..."

Lorelai's eyes opened and she confusedly asked, "How did we get back to this topic?"

"... but I just got an idea to help keep you from possibly _becoming_ concerned in the future," Luke finished.

Lorelai raised an eyebrow. "Ooh, intrigue. Lay it on me."

"Before you leave, make a list of things about Josh that you think someone watching him would need to know," Luke suggested. "Big things, little things, things you know I already know but are still important. That way, when you're not here, you know that there's a list I can check if I'm not sure about something."

Lorelai cocked her head to the side. "Hon, that's silly. I don't think you need a list. I already said I know you're a hundred percent capable."

"I know, but trust me, you'll feel better if you know it's here," Luke said. "I want you to be focused on traveling and enjoying the sights, and not worrying about something stupid that pops into your head, like if I know how to check the temperature of his bath water with that little plastic duck-shaped thermometer."

Lorelai smirked. "Luke..."

"And yes, I do know that, but you should still put it on the list," Luke added. "Because wouldn't it be good to have a list like that around just in case someone else needs to watch him for us? We'd have it ready to go."

Lorelai smiled. "Okay, if you want there to be a list, we can make a list. The key word being _we_... you have to add things to it, too. It should be something we do together."

Luke smiled. "Deal."

. . . . .

. . . . .

The following weekend, after working a few hours at the inn running a Sunday brunch party, Lorelai stopped at Doose's on her way home. As she was walking through the aisles throwing essentials into her basket, she came across a Valentine's Day display and abruptly stopped short.

She was staring in disbelief at the greeting cards and chocolates and cheap wine, trying to figure out how far away Valentine's Day actually was.

Miss Patty saw her standing in front of the display and walked over to her. "You okay, honey? You look confused."

"When is Valentine's Day?" Lorelai asked. "I mean, I know it's the 14th, but when is that? I have no idea what day it is."

"Today's the first, dear," Miss Patty told her.

Lorelai gasped. "It is? That means tomorrow's Groundhog's Day. I almost missed it! I like to watch the movie _Groundhog's Day_ on Groundhog's Day, it's a tradition."

"Well, don't worry, you didn't miss it." Miss Patty gestured to the display. "So, I guess you two haven't made any plans for Valentine's Day weekend?"

Lorelai shook her head. "I haven't, no, and I'd venture a guess that Luke doesn't realize Valentine's Day is coming up either." She thought for a moment. "I should do something for him."

Miss Patty smirked. "Or _to_ him."

"I should plan a surprise for him," Lorelai said. "Like a night out." She put her hand on her forehead. "God, we haven't had a night out since... I don't even know when. He deserves a night out."

"You both do," Miss Patty said.

Lorelai nibbled on her bottom lip. "I'm getting an idea, but I'm gonna need babysitters. You think people might be available next weekend?"

"Those of us not currently in relationships will be," Miss Patty muttered.

Lorelai frowned. "Sorry, Patty. I'm sure a new lothario will be knocking on your door very soon."

"I hope so. As far as next weekend, I'm in as long as you let me live vicariously through the romantic escapades of you and that sexy husband of yours."

Lorelai patted her on the shoulder. "Knock yourself out. I gotta get home, but I'll be in touch, okay?"

"Okay," Miss Patty said. "Bye, honey."

Lorelai grabbed a few more items and walked over to the register to check out. As she was putting her bags into the Jeep out front, her cell phone rang, and she pulled it from her coat pocket. "Hello?"

"Lorelai, hello," Richard's voice replied. "Do you have a minute?"

"Sure, Dad, give me one second," Lorelai replied. She closed the trunk of the Jeep and got into the driver's seat. "Okay, what's up?"

"Well, I don't typically like to conduct these types of conversations over the phone, but I'm going to be traveling this week, so I won't be able to see you in person."

"Is something wrong?"

"No, everything's fine," Richard replied. "But I had lunch with Trix yesterday, and we had a discussion that concerned you."

"Oh, great. Is she still mad at me for coming to dinner last week instead of staying home with the sick baby?"

"Well, she didn't mention as such, but she did reveal that she had spent a great deal of time thinking about how her great-grandchild was continually getting sick in daycare," Richard replied. "She isn't too fond of the situation, to say the least. She is pretty adamant that he should have more private care at such a young age."

"Well, sorry, Dad, there's nothing we can do about that. We both want to work and that's our best option right now."

"Yes, well, she wants to help expand your options," Richard said. "Joshua already has a trust fund that he will receive when he turns 25, but she is creating a second smaller one for him that can be used now. That way you and Luke can have the chance to find more personalized care for him until he's of school age."

"Mom already tried to fund that for us, Dad," Lorelai told him. "I rejected her offer, and I'll reject Gran's, too. He's perfectly fine in daycare, it's not a big deal. We don't need the money."

"Well, I wasn't aware Emily had offered, but I'm afraid your grandmother won't take no quite as easily as your mother did," Richard told her. "She's already called her financial advisor to have him start transferring the funds."

"But we don't need the money, Dad... we don't want it."

"Well, she's providing it either way. Whether or not you use it is up to you, I suppose." There was a brief pause before he added, "And Lorelai, it would probably be best if you didn't mention this to your mother."

Lorelai sighed. "So, I'm being forced to take money I don't want, and I also have to keep it a secret. Anything else you want to throw on top of that, Dad?"

"No, I think that's about it. I'll contact you with the account information once Trix gives it to me. Goodbye, Lorelai."

"Bye, Dad," Lorelai said, and she hung up the phone.

She drove home and found Luke in the kitchen feeding the baby in his high chair. "There are my handsome men," she said as she set her shopping bags on the table.

"Hey," Luke greeted her. "How was work?"

"It was good, the party was really nice," Lorelai replied. She walked over to the high chair and leaned down to greet the baby. "Hi, there, little boy," she said softly, and when the baby smiled at her, Lorelai's smile widened. "You're happy today. I love happy Josh." She kissed the baby on his forehead, then turned to Luke. "I love happy Luke, too," she said before leaning in to kiss him. "Luke's happy today, right?"

"Yeah, but he'll be happier if you have some diapers in those bags," he replied. "We're down to the last three."

"Yup, got the diapers," she confirmed, and she sat down in the chair across from him. "Also got an interesting call a few minutes ago."

"From who?" Luke replied as he fed Josh his last spoonful of cereal.

"From my dad," Lorelai replied. "You ready?"

"Hit me."

Lorelai filled him in on the phone call as Luke wiped Josh's face and hands, and Lorelai started wiping down the tray of the high chair.

Luke quietly listened as she explained what was going on, and when she was done, he said, "I think it's something we should consider."

Lorelai narrowed her eyes, surprised. "What?"

"Taking him out of daycare," Luke replied. "I think we should consider it."

"Really?" Lorelai asked as she lifted Josh from the high chair. "I thought you liked the daycare." She started walking to the living room to change him, and Luke followed behind her.

"It's fine, but I like the idea of him being at home," Luke said. "And it's not even because of the sickness stuff... we expected that. Kids touch stuff, they put their hands in their mouth, they get sick. That'll happen anywhere, we can't totally prevent that."

"Right, unless we go full-on _Bubble Boy_."

"When Maisie and Mrs. Cassini were watching him here at the house, I just felt... I don't know... more relaxed about being away from him during the day. I knew exactly where he was, who he was coming in contact with, what his surroundings were."

"Yeah, I liked that part of it, too," Lorelai agreed. "But the whole reason he went to daycare was because we didn't have someone to watch him full time. We had to either quit working or send him somewhere."

"Yeah, but we didn't even consider looking for private care outside of people we know," Luke pointed out. "But maybe it's something we should talk about." Lorelai didn't say anything as she focused on changing the baby's diaper for a minute, and finally Luke asked, "So, what do _you_ think?"

Lorelai shrugged. "I think there are pros and cons to both sides. Yeah, it would be nice to have him here in an environment that we have more control over, but being with other kids at an early age is good for him... it'll teach him sharing and help develop his social skills."

Luke nodded in agreement. "Right, true."

Lorelai finished changing Josh and handed him to Luke. "I have to get changed," she said, nodding toward the stairs. "Come up with me."

Luke grabbed a rattle from the coffee table and followed Lorelai up to the bedroom. As Lorelai started taking off her work clothes, Luke sat down on the bed with Josh and held the rattle out for him, watching as he wrapped his little fingers around it.

Luke glanced over at Lorelai. "Any other pros or cons to talk about?"

Lorelai finished pulling on a pair of pants and folded her arms across her chest. "Umm, let me think," she pondered out loud. "Not taking him to daycare means less car rides, and he loves car rides, so that would definitely be a con for him. Plus, less people would see him in his cute little outfits if he was home all day. I hate it when I'm dressed all cute and no one sees it."

Luke smiled amusedly, and then cocked his head to the side. "Lorelai."

"Yeah?"

"You don't want to use the money, do you?" Luke asked. "Is that basically the bottom line here?"

Lorelai gently nodded her head. "Pretty much."

"But we don't even know if private care would be more or less than the daycare center," Luke said. "I mean, sure, the word private in it makes it sound expensive, but maybe there are reasonably priced babysitters out there. Maybe we wouldn't even have to dip into your grandmother's money at all."

Lorelai shrugged with uncertainty. "Maybe." She sighed softly. "I hate that she's doing this. It feels like a handout, like she thinks we're not doing a good enough job raising our kid so she needed to step in and help us."

"That's one way to look at it," Luke said. "Or you can just look at it as a bonus gift. She knows we're fine without it, that we don't need it, but she's giving us the ability to change things if we want to. She's just being nice."

"That's not exactly a common theme in the Gilmore family," she reminded him. "She's doing it so we can raise our kid the way _she_ thinks he should be raised, not out of niceness."

"Yeah, but since we both want him to be watched at home anyway, what she wants matches with what we want," Luke pointed out. "She's not trying to get us to do something we don't want to do."

"Yeah, but it still feels manipulative."

Luke closed his eyes for a few seconds and then opened them. "Let me ask you... if we look into private care and we find a really good candidate and we have enough money to handle it on our own, would you wanna do it? Would you want to have him watched at home?"

"Yes."

"And let's say we look into it and it turns out we would have to use some of your grandmother's money each month to cover it," Luke said. "Would you be against the idea?"

Lorelai glanced down at the ground as she thought it over, and then lifted her head as she admitted, "Probably."

"Okay, so, here's what we'll do," he calmly replied. "We'll look into, see if we can cover it, and if not... we won't do it."

Lorelai eyed him for a moment. "Really? You'd be okay with leaving things as they are?"

"Yeah. Because I know you hate that your parents are involved with Yale and you'd hate it just as much if your grandmother was involved with Josh, and I don't want you to be uncomfortable." He leaned down close to Josh's ear and whispered loudly enough for her to hear, "Because we'd never hear the end of it, would we, buddy?"

Lorelai smiled. "And you seriously won't be mad if we don't do it?"

"Nope. We'll check it out and see how it adds up, and we'll decide from there."

Lorelai nodded in agreement, feeling relieved. "Okay... that works. Thank you."

As Luke shifted Josh on his lap and started talking to him, Lorelai turned to face the closet and looked for a shirt to wear.

As she listened to Luke playing with Josh behind her, she noticed her relief starting to morph into some sort of anticipated guilt. She knew if they ended up staying with daycare just because she didn't want to use the money, Luke would pretend that he wasn't disappointed. He would go along with it without complaining, even if it was the opposite of what he wanted, and she was already feeling bad about that.

She selected a t-shirt from the closet and pulled it on, then turned around to face him. She watched him for a few moments as he tickled Josh's belly to make him giggle, and then she finally said, "I guess... maybe... it wouldn't hurt to try it out either way."

Luke looked up at her. "What?"

Lorelai took a deep breath. "We should try it out either way. Even if we do have to use a little of Gran's money... we should try it out just to see if we like it better."

Luke's eyes widened with surprise, and then just as quickly narrowed at her. "You sure?"

Lorelai nodded. "Yes. And if we aren't happy, we'll go back to daycare. We'll probably end up on the waiting list again, but at least then we can say we tried other options and decided which we liked the best."

Luke nodded in agreement. "That sounds good, if you're sure you're okay with it."

Lorelai nodded. "I'm okay with it." She walked over and sat with him on the bed. "I wouldn't even know where to start, though. How do you find someone to come over and watch your kid?"

"I have no idea."

"It's probably usually word of mouth," Lorelai replied. "Like someone knows someone who nannies kids or used to be a teacher or something like that."

"Right."

Lorelai thought for a moment. "Didn't Kirk give you his babysitter application back when he found out we were pregnant?"

Luke shook his head. "Don't even think about it."

"Why not? He's responsible... sort of... sometimes."

Luke scoffed. "You cannot be serious right now."

Lorelai groaned. "I know, I'm just desperate for ideas." She exhaled a sigh. "I would love for it to be Maisie, she was so good with him. But I know that's not an option."

In the fall, when they were looking for people to watch Josh a few days a week, Maisie had volunteered to help out temporarily for a few months, but said she wouldn't be able to do it long term because Buddy needed her at the restaurant.

"Okay, well, we don't have to decide right now," Luke said. "We can ask around, see if anyone in town has some suggestions."

Lorelai nodded in agreement. "Yeah, good idea."

Luke stood up from the bed and passed Josh to her. "I'm gonna go work on weeding the junk out of the hall closet so I don't fear for my life every time I open it."

"It's not junk, it's all important stuff," she insisted.

He rolled his eyes. "There's an entire box of _Cheers_ VHS tapes and memorabilia."

"Important _classic_ stuff!"

"Yeah, well, I think we can move some stuff to the garage," Luke said. "I'm gonna build some more shelves out there soon." He gestured toward the door. "You guys coming down?"

"If we do, are you gonna make me help clean the closet?"

"Probably."

"Then we're gonna play in his room for a little while," Lorelai replied, smiling.

"Yeah, I figured." He leaned in to kiss her. "Have fun."

"You, too."

. . . . .

. . . . .

A few days later, Lorelai walked into the kitchen of the Independence Inn. "Sookie, I need you."

"What's the matter?" Sookie asked as she continued chopping vegetables at the counter.

"I'm down to the last task on my to-do list for my Valentine's Day surprise," Lorelai said. "Can you call my mother and tell her we need to skip Friday night dinner next week?"

Sookie laughed. "Yeah, right, you couldn't pay me enough." She paused, thought it over, and then said, "No, wait, you could. Make me an offer."

Lorelai smirked and walked over to pour herself a cup of coffee.

"Shouldn't that have been your first task?" Sookie asked. "You know, get the night off before you start planning things?"

Lorelai walked back over to Sookie with her coffee. "Probably, yes, but when the first task is the scariest, you tend to keep pushing it down the line, and it accidentally ended up allll the way down the line. So now I have to suck it up and hope for the best and, if necessary, whip out some tears to really go in for the kill."

"And you haven't mentioned anything about it to Luke yet?" Sookie asked. "He has no idea you're planning something?"

"Not yet. I think I'm gonna tell him this weekend at the festival," Lorelai replied. "You know, like a nice little surprise by the bonfire."

Sookie smiled. "That's a good idea, romantic." She picked up her cutting board and walked over to the stove to dump the vegetables into a pot. As she walked back to Lorelai at the counter, she said, "You're kind of making me feel like a bad wife. You've got this great evening planned out, and Jackson's gonna be lucky if I even have enough energy to cook him a Valentine's Day dinner this year. I've been so exhausted at night, we've been ordering out a lot."

"Well, maybe he can cook dinner for you instead," Lorelai suggested. "Under your supervision of course. Want me to secretly and very subtly plant that seed next time I see him?"

Sookie eagerly nodded. "That would be nice."

"Consider it done."

"Thank you," Sookie replied. "You guys make any progress on the daycare versus not-daycare situation?"

"No," Lorelai said. "And the more we've been talking about it, the more we both realized we'd really rather it be someone we know and trust. They're not only gonna be taking care of our kid, but they're also gonna be in our house all the time, so it's like, do I want Stranger McStrangerson all over my house going through my things while my baby's sleeping?"

"Right, it makes sense to want a familiar face," Sookie agreed.

"But that obviously makes it even harder because it takes the candidate pool way down." Lorelai took a long sip of her coffee. "We're kind of just waiting for some miraculous answer to fall into our laps."

Sookie smiled. "Solid plan."

"I thought so." Lorelai took a deep breath. "Okay. I have to go call my mom and see if she will take pity on me and enable me to go on a date with my husband for the first time in months. Wish me luck."

"Good luck," Sookie said. "Let me know how it goes."

"If you hear screaming or cursing or a loud noise that sounds like it could've been me throwing a chair across the lobby, you'll know how it went."

"Got it."

. . . . .

. . . . .

A few days later, on Saturday evening, the annual Firelight Festival was taking place in the town square, and Rory came home for the weekend so she could attend with them. They spent some time mingling, trying out the different food booths, and staying warm by the bonfire, and mid-festival, Lorelai went home with Josh to feed and change him.

Luke and Rory stayed at the festival to keep an eye out for Liz. She was in town for her high school reunion, and was planning to meet them at the festival to introduce them to her boyfriend.

When Lorelai returned with the baby, she found Luke and Rory talking with Liz near the churro booth. "We're back," Lorelai announced as she approached them.

"Lorelai, hey!" Liz exclaimed, and she greeted her with a big hug. "It's so good to see you!"

"You, too," Lorelai said. "I was afraid I was gonna miss running into you."

"Perfect timing, we just got here," Liz said as she pulled back from the hug. She gestured to Rory and said, "I just met your girl - she's so sweet!"

Lorelai smiled and nodded. "That she is."

Liz leaned down to look at Josh in his stroller. "Hi, there, remember me? I'm your Aunt Liz. How's the little cutie doing?"

"He's doing good," Lorelai said. "He's up past his bedtime, so he's probably gonna conk out soon."

Liz stood back up. "I want you to meet TJ. He just went to get us some apple cider."

"Can't wait to meet him," Lorelai said.

"I was just gonna get in line for churros, Mom," Rory said. "You want some?"

"Definitely," Lorelai replied. "Get a large order."

As Rory walked away to get in line, Lorelai said to Liz, "So, did you have a chance to see Jess yet?"

Liz smiled and nodded. "Yeah, we had lunch with him today. He's doing real good." She looked over at Luke. "Thanks to this guy."

Luke shook his head. "You don't have to thank me every time it comes up, Liz."

"Okay, sorry, I just wanna make sure you know how much I appreciate it."

"I know you do." Luke glanced toward the apple cider booth across the square. "You know, you might wanna go check on TJ. I don't see him over there... he may have gotten lost."

"He's probably staring at the bonfire, he falls into this weird trippy daze when he's around fire," Liz said. "I'll be right back."

As Liz walked off, Luke stepped closer to Lorelai and gestured to a bench near the gazebo. "Let's sit." He pushed the stroller over and parked it beside the bench, and they both sat down. "I wanna talk to you about something."

"Oh, good, because I wanna talk to you about something, too," Lorelai countered.

"You go first," he said.

"Okay, well, you may or may not be aware of the fact that... Valentine's Day is next week," Lorelai said, pausing a moment to see his reaction.

Luke grimaced slightly. "It is?"

Lorelai smiled. "Yeah, I had that same reaction when I found out last weekend." She rubbed her hands together excitedly. "But I have concocted a surprise plan that involves..." Lorelai took a deep breath before finishing with, "... you and me going away overnight."

Luke's eyes widened with surprise. "Really?"

"Yeah. We haven't even been out on a date without the baby since he was born," Lorelai pointed out. "He's 6 months old!"

"I know, but who's gonna watch him overnight?"

"Well, I have started compiling a group of people to help out," Lorelai said. "Like a babysitting team."

"Hello, Lucas," a breathy voice called from behind them, and they both turned around.

"Oh, geez," Luke muttered under his breath as he saw Crazy Carrie walking toward them with two of Liz's other friends. "Hey, Carrie," he politely greeted her as he stood up from the bench.

"We're looking for Liz, have you seen her?" Carrie asked.

"She went to find TJ," Luke replied, and then he gestured to Lorelai. "Uh, you remember Lorelai."

"Hi," Lorelai said. What Lorelai remembered the most about Carrie was her unwavering commitment to flirting with Luke every single time they ran into her.

"Yeah, the wife, I know," Carrie replied, avoiding eye contact with Lorelai as she ran her hand down Luke's arm. "Did you tell her about that time we made out in high school?"

"We did _not_ make out," Luke insisted, pulling his arm away.

"We sure did, under the bleachers," Carrie said. "It was hot, and you were very handsy."

Luke groaned. "Not true."

"Thank you for letting me know," Lorelai said to Carrie, and then cocked her head toward Luke. "Honey, considering the impact this information could have on our marriage, I think we should have a very intense talk right now about that thing that may or may not have happened two decades ago, shouldn't we?" she asked him with faux-seriousness.

"Yes, we should," Luke agreed, playing along, and then looked back at Carrie. "Can you excuse us?"

"Sure thing, stud," Carrie said, patting him on the shoulder. "Let me know if you need a place to stay tonight."

As the women walked away, Lorelai shook her head amusedly. "She's something else."

"We did _not_ make out," Luke told her as he sat back down. "I just need to reiterate that."

"I know." Lorelai looked into the stroller to check on Josh, who had fallen asleep. "He's officially out."

Rory walked over to them with a plate of churros. "I come bearing gifts."

"Ooh, yum," Lorelai said, taking one from the plate. "Thanks, hon."

Luke stood up so that Rory could sit down next to Lorelai, and he noticed Liz and TJ walking toward them.

"Here he is," Liz announced, and she linked her arm through TJ's. "Lorelai, I want you to meet my guy... this is my TJ."

Lorelai stood up, and after brushing crumbs from her hands, extended one toward him. "Hi, TJ, nice to meet you."

TJ's eyes widened as he shook her hand and he stared intently at Lorelai's face. "Wow. You are definitely Rory's mother."

"Oh, um, wow," Lorelai confusedly replied. "Yes, I am. Wasn't expecting that greeting."

"Sorry. I just meant, you know, you guys look really alike," TJ explained. "I met her earlier."

"Right. How are you liking Stars Hollow?" Lorelai asked.

"Oh, it's great. Everyone's so nice here." TJ held up the cup in his hand. "And the punch is amazing."

"I thought you went for apple cider," Luke said.

"Miss Patty lured him over to the punch table," Liz said.

"She can be very persuasive," Lorelai said with a nod.

"She bought a couple pairs of Lizzie's earrings today," TJ said. "Have you seen her jewelry? She makes beautiful stuff."

Liz gasped. "Oh, shoot! I made you a pair, Lorelai. I left it at Carrie's house. I'll drop it off before we leave tomorrow."

"Oh, that's nice," Lorelai said, smiling appreciatively. "Thanks, Liz."

"We're hitting the road really early, so I'll just leave it in the mailbox." Liz pointed at Luke. "Don't forget to check the mailbox tomorrow, okay, bro?"

"I will," Luke assured her. "Carrie was just looking for you... did you see her?"

"Yeah, she just wanted to tell us that she and the girls were going over to KC's," Liz said. "We're gonna head over there in a little bit."

"Did you tell these guys about the booth I made?" TJ asked Liz.

"Oh, my God - TJ made me this amazing booth for my jewelry," Liz told them. "And he carved this really great big sign on top so you can see it from far away. It's beautiful. I'll send you a picture."

"Having an eye-catching booth is very important at a renaissance fair," TJ told them. "If you don't have a good booth, nobody's gonna come see your merchandise."

"That's what I've heard," Lorelai said, nodding in agreement.

"Yup, me, too," Rory said.

They chatted for a few more minutes before Liz and TJ said their goodbyes. When they had walked away, Lorelai said, "He seems nice... friendly."

"Yeah, I guess he's not too bad," Luke admitted.

"They seem happy," Rory said, and Lorelai nodded in agreement as she bit into another churro.

Lane walked over to them. "Hey guys, hey boss."

"You don't have to call me boss," Luke said.

"How's the waitressing life?" Rory asked, offering her a churro.

Lane took one from the plate. "It's good. Only a few days in, and I've already got a good handle on who leaves the best tips."

"You're doing great," Luke said. "Those tips are well deserved."

"How's the new apartment?" Lorelai asked.

"Well, we're still getting settled in, and we are currently living on crackers and spray cheese, but it's a start," Lane said.

"Good, good," Lorelai said, and she patted Lane's arm. "I know it might seem scary being on your own, but we're here if you need us, okay?"

"Definitely," Luke agreed. "If you need something, don't be afraid to ask."

"Luke's particularly good at fixing things if your apartment needs any minor repairs," Lorelai added.

Lane gave them an appreciative smile. "Thanks."

Rory and Lane started talking, and Luke and Lorelai exchanged a look. He nodded to the side to indicate he wanted to take a walk with her.

Lorelai glanced into the stroller to confirm that the baby was still sleeping. "Can you guys keep an eye on him for like ten minutes while Luke and I have a chat?" she asked Rory and Lane. "It'll be good practice for next week."

"Sure," Rory replied.

As Lorelai and Luke walked away, Luke confusedly said, "Practice for next week?"

"Yeah, I'll explain in a minute."

They winded their way through the festival crowd as they looked for a quiet area for some privacy. They ended up on a bench in front of the church across the street.

"Okay, back to the Valentine's Day plans," Lorelai said. "I figured we'd hit up that new Italian restaurant in Berlin, and then I reserved us a room at the inn for Friday night. So it's not like we're not gonna be far from home on our overnight jaunt, but hey, a night out is a night out, right?"

"Right."

"And I know Valentine's Day is on Saturday, but the inn was booked that night, so just go with it."

Luke smirked. "Got it." He thought for a moment. "Wait, so, did you get us out of Friday night dinner?"

Lorelai inhaled a sharp breath. "Well, see, I tried really hard, but Emily was being ridiculously stubborn about it, so I suggested that she and my dad join us at the restaurant for dinner."

Luke groaned. "Seriously?"

Lorelai grinned. "No, I just wanted to see your reaction."

Luke exhaled a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank God." He shook his head at her. "That was cruel."

"Sorry. Yes, with a very strong tone of desperation, I was able to convince my mom to relinquish Friday night for all of us, Rory included."

"Nice work."

"So, Rory and Lane are gonna sleep at the house overnight with him," Lorelai said. "Lane isn't sure if she has to work on Friday night, but she'll come over after her shift if you need her at the diner. Or you can maybe try to schedule her earlier in the day so she can be there when we leave."

Luke looked hesitant. "Those are two people who know very little about babies. You're okay with that?"

"They know enough to handle it for a few hours, most of which Josh will be sound asleep," Lorelai said. "And they're only going to be there by themselves for the overnight hours. I have the rest of the time all worked out. You ready?"

"Ready."

"Babette and Morey will be there on Friday night until the baby falls asleep," Lorelai explained. "And when he wakes up in the morning, Rory is gonna call Miss Patty to come help them until we get home. And Sookie is going to be on call the whole time, including overnight because Davey still gets up to eat every few hours. So everything's covered, and there are all sorts of extra hands on deck."

Luke gave her an impressed nod. "Wow. You have it all worked out."

"I really want us to do this," she said. "Not only because we deserve a night out, but it'll also give me a chance to get used to being away from him, even if it's just for a night."

"To prepare for your trip," Luke presumed.

"Yeah." Lorelai squeezed his hand. "What do you think?"

"I think it sounds great," Luke replied. "I just feel bad you're the one planning everything. I should've been the one trying to give you a nice night out."

Lorelai shook her head. "You do enough for me, I wanted to do something for _you_."

Luke smiled and leaned in to kiss her. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," she said. "Now, your turn, what did _you_ wanna talk about?"

Luke took a deep breath. "Okay, well, when you went home with Josh, I ran into Carl, the cook who used to work at Al's years ago before they went to international cuisine," he said. "Remember that guy?"

Lorelai pondered for a moment. "Yeah, I think so... tall, kind of looks like Clint Eastwood if you're squinting?"

"Yeah, that's him. Well, he's been working at a restaurant in Litchfield," Luke explained. "And he's getting older now and was looking to cut down his hours a little, but he just got a new manager who told him if he couldn't commit to a full time schedule, he'd have to let him go for someone who could. So now Carl's keeping his eye out for a part-time job."

"Okay," Lorelai said confusedly, unsure about where he was going with this.

"And he's a real good guy, I've known him a long time," Luke said. "And as I'm talking to him, I started thinking about how we're looking for someone to watch Josh in the mornings, and suddenly this idea popped into my head."

"You want Carl to watch the baby?" Lorelai asked, still confused.

Luke shook his head. "No. I want to hire Carl as a part-time cook at the diner... and _I'll_ stay home with Josh."

Lorelai's eyes slowly widened. "You want to stay home with him?" She blinked a few times. "Like, you'll be a morning stay-at-home dad, and I'll be an afternoon stay-at-home mom?"

"Yup, we'll tag-team him," Luke replied. "I still might have to run in early sometimes for deliveries or stuff like that, but I'll be back for you to go to work. We'll take turns during the day, and at night we'll all be together - it's perfect. That way it's _us_ raising him during the early years... _we_ can be the ones seeing all of his firsts instead of a daycare worker or nanny."

Lorelai shook her head in disbelief. "That's... I'm... I can't..." she stammered. She stood up from the bench and walked a few feet away, processing everything in her head for a minute. She walked back to him and just smiled down at him for a few seconds before finally declaring, "You're amazing."

Luke stood up with her and humbly replied, "Thank you."

"Seriously," Lorelai told him. "The concept of a dad wanting to be involved in his kid's life is completely new to me after what I went through with Rory, and you just never stop surprising me." She kissed him, then pulled back with a smile. "You have surpassed every expectation I could've ever had."

"So, you like the idea?"

"I _love_ the idea," she told him. "If you want to do it, then yes, let's do it."

Luke smiled. "Okay, good. I think it'll be good." He shrugged as he added, "I'm not sure if we'll need to use your grandmother's money yet. I think the money we were paying for daycare might be enough to cover it, but we'll have to see. It could fluctuate week to week if we need Carl for more hours for some reason."

Lorelai nodded understandingly. "Okay."

"How do you think your grandmother will take it?" Luke hesitantly asked. "I mean, considering she doesn't think I can properly nurture my kid."

"I don't know, she might not love the idea," Lorelai admitted, and then she kissed him softly. "But one day she'll realize that you're a pretty extraordinary father."

Luke shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm doing my best."

"You're doing _amazing_ ," she corrected him, and grinned as she added, "You're gonna get some extra special treatment on our overnight date."

Luke smirked and leaned in to kiss her, interlocking his hands at the small of her back. As he pulled his lips from hers, he said, "So, let me get this straight..."

"Yes?"

"We're gonna go out and have a nice dinner at an actual restaurant on Friday night," he said.

"Correct."

"And then head over to the inn where I get to spend the rest of the night with you, alone, without being interrupted by crying or having to go feed or change anyone?"

Lorelai smiled. "That's right. Although you will definitely have to feed _me_ , so bring some snacks."

Luke hummed approvingly. "I love that boy to death, but a night of just you sounds pretty damn good."

Lorelai nodded. "I concur." She glanced over toward the festival. "Speaking of the boy, we should get back."

"Okay. But for the record, I'm probably gonna spend the next week thinking about Friday night."

Lorelai grinned. "You and me both."

They shared a kiss, and then Luke took her hand and they started walking back toward the gazebo.

. . . . .

. . . . .

 **To be continued...**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

. . . . .

On Friday night, Luke was in the living room talking with Babette and Morey while Lane and Rory were in the kitchen unloading the Chinese food that had just been delivered. The baby was sitting in his swing chewing on a toy, and Lorelai was upstairs getting ready for their night out.

When she finally started walking down the stairs, Luke glanced up at her and his eyes widened. She was a vision. She'd bought a new dress, short, black, and fitted, that accentuated her curves and her long legs. Her long hair fell in perfect waves over her shoulders, and her jewelry sparkled as it caught the lights of the living room.

"Okay, I'm ready," Lorelai announced.

"You look _hot_ , doll!" Babette exclaimed, and then nudged Morey with her elbow. "Doesn't she look hot?"

"Hot," Morey agreed in his usual unenthusiastic tone as he nodded his head.

"Thanks, guys." Lorelai stepped off the bottom step and stood in front of Luke, and when that delicate smell of her perfume hit him, tingles rushed down his spine.

He was smiling as he looked her up and down, and then he met her gaze. "I'm in agreement with the hot consensus."

Lorelai smiled. "Yeah?"

Luke nodded. "You're perfect."

"Thanks." She ran her hand down the front of his shirt. "You're looking pretty hot yourself."

They smiled at each other for a few moments until Babette said, "You two look like you're about to start going at it on the floor. You want us to go to the kitchen?"

Lorelai blushed a little as she looked over at her with a smile. "No, let's do a quick tour," and then called, "Where are my overnighters?"

"Coming," Rory called, and she and Lane walked to the living room. "Wow, you look great, Mom."

They spent a few minutes going over things in the living room, and then went upstairs to the nursery to go over Josh's bedtime routine. They headed down to the kitchen so Lorelai could show them how to make his bottle and his cereal, and reviewed a list of reminders on the fridge.

They walked back to the living room, and Lorelai and Luke stood in front of the swing. Lorelai took a deep breath before leaning down to talk to Josh. "Okay, kid... Mommy and Daddy are going out for a little while, but you'll be in good hands." She leaned in and kissed his cheek. "We love you."

As she stood back up, Luke leaned down and kissed the baby's forehead. "Be good, buddy."

Lorelai quickly hugged everyone and thanked them for helping out, and then she walked to the foyer to put on her coat. "Call us if you need anything. I mean it, anything." She wrinkled her nose. "Did I cover everything on the list? We should go over it again."

"Go," Rory said, pointing at the door. "Luke, get her out of here."

Luke opened the front door and reached for Lorelai's hand. "Come on, we're leaving. Bye, everyone."

There was a chorus of goodbyes as they walked out of the house, and the front door closed behind them. They drove twenty minutes to the Italian restaurant they had reservations at, and were seated quickly.

As they were starting off with wine and bread, Luke said, "This feels weird, right?"

"Yup," she quickly agreed.

"Eating together without one of us holding a baby," Luke continued.

"Or talking without having one ear tuned in to the baby monitor listening for noises."

"Or leaving mid-conversation to run into another room to get him."

Lorelai pondered for a moment. "Can you remember the last time just the two of us went out? It must've been in the summer, right?"

"Yeah, I was trying to remember the other day," Luke said. "And I'm pretty sure it was like a week or two before your due date, during that insane heat wave where it was almost a hundred degrees every day."

"Ugh, that was so uncomfortable," Lorelai said as she made a face.

"You didn't even wanna leave the house," Luke said. "You stayed inside for days and were getting cranky from your cabin fever, so I finally bribed you to go out by - "

"Promising you'd buy me as much ice cream as I wanted," Lorelai finished, smiling. "I remember now."

Luke nodded. "We went out for dinner and then we went for ice cream."

"Lots and lots of ice cream. That's all I ate for days." Lorelai took a sip of wine and then shook her head at him. "We can't do that. We can't go so long in between date nights that we have to think hard to remember the last one."

Luke shrugged. "I know, but I've heard that's pretty common when you become parents, isn't it?"

"It doesn't have to be," Lorelai said. "And I don't want it to be the norm for us. If we don't have some alone time like this once in awhile, we're going to get frustrated and distant and end up hating each other, and I don't know about you, but I don't want us to hate each other."

Luke pretended to think it over for a few seconds before he replied, "Nah, I don't want that either."

"Maybe we could work something out with Sookie and Jackson," Lorelai mused. "Like, once a month, we'll swap babysitting duties for date nights - they'll watch Josh one night and we'll watch Davey another night."

Luke nodded. "Yeah, that would be good, if they're up for it. Plus, it would make us feel less guilty about asking people to babysit if we were repaying the favor."

"Exactly," Lorelai said. "I'll talk to her about it."

The waiter brought their salads to the table, and as they started eating them, Lorelai asked, "So, what's going on with Carl? He's definitely starting next week?"

Luke quickly swallowed down the food in his mouth and then replied, "Yup. I'm gonna stick around with him for the first few days until he gets a good feel for the kitchen, but I think we can still plan on me being home with Josh starting the first of March."

"I know I've already asked this, but you're sure you don't want to keep him in daycare for March?" Lorelai asked. "It could help you when Rory and I are away."

"Not necessary," Luke replied, shaking his head. "We've already started talking to people about watching him some of the afternoons, I'm gonna have employees pull some extra shifts at the diner so I can take some days off, it'll be fine. It'd be a waste of money to pay for the whole month when we don't need it."

Lorelai nodded in agreement. "I know, you're right. If you're sure you won't need it, we'll cancel it."

"I'm sure," he said confidently.

Lorelai took a sip of her wine. "Okay, let's talk about something else. Talking about the baby is making me want to check in on him already and we decided we would only call home once tonight."

"Let's talk about how good that dress looks on you," Luke said without skipping a beat.

Lorelai gasped softly and her lips curved into a smile. "Wow, you took it from G to PG-13 in a matter of seconds." She leaned forward a little and lowered her voice. "Are you gonna be hitting that R-rating soon?"

Luke nodded in confirmation. "I do believe that later tonight, yes, there will be an abundance of adult content."

Lorelai pretended to signal for a waiter. "Check, please."

Luke smirked and gestured to her salad. "Eat. We haven't been to a fancy restaurant in months, let's enjoy it."

"Okay, fine, we'll stay in the PG-13 zone for now," Lorelai said, and after a bite of salad, she asked, "You really like the dress?"

Luke shook his head slightly. "You have no idea."

"So, if you were to rate it on a scale of one to - "

"Definitely a ten," he interjected.

"One million," she continued.

"One million," he corrected himself.

"... where one million is bad and one is the best..." she continued.

Luke smiled amusedly. "Then it's a one."

Lorelai smiled. "Good. Remember that when you see the price on the credit card bill."

. . . . .

. . . . .

Later that evening, they walked into the inn and rushed quickly through the lobby, trying to avoid Tobin behind the front desk so Lorelai wouldn't get caught up in chit chat or work talk.

They headed upstairs to the second floor. Lorelai unlocked the door with the room key she'd taken earlier in the day and they walked into the dark room.

Lorelai turned on the light, gasping softly when she saw flowers, chocolates, wine, and a wrapped gift on the dresser. "Luke... did you do that?"

"Yup." He shut the door to the room and put their overnight bag down, and watched as she walked over to the dresser and surveyed the gifts.

Smiling, she walked back over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"How did you do this?" she asked.

"I dropped it off earlier and gave Michel twenty bucks to put them in whatever room you'd reserved for us," Luke told him, and then he smiled as he added, "He said you put it under Celine Dion."

Lorelai grinned. "When he first saw it in the reservation book the other day, he got so excited and his voice was all high and squeal-y, and then I told him it was actually a room for me and then he got all angry and bitter." She sighed contently. "It was a great day."

Luke smirked. "I bet."

Lorelai kissed him gently. "So, what do you think? Should we freshen up a little and then seduce each other?"

Luke slid his hands down her sides and back up again. "I think so."

"You can go first," she said, gesturing to the bathroom. "I'm gonna check on things at home before it gets too late to call."

"Okay."

As he disappeared into the bathroom, Lorelai pulled her cell phone out of her purse and sat on the bed to call home. When Luke emerged a few minutes later, she had already hung up, and he asked, "Everything good at the house?"

Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Yeah, Rory gave me a play by play of the evening... feeding, changing, playing, some baby babbling, and he is currently starting to doze off while Morey plays a lullaby on the mini keyboard he brought over while Lane accompanies him with her drumsticks."

Luke smiled. "Seriously?"

"Yeah. The baby is attending a live concert right now, so he's completely oblivious that Mommy and Daddy are out somewhere being naughty."

Luke let out a small laugh. "Good."

"Everyone else in town, however, totally knows," Lorelai added, and then she turned around. "Unzip, please."

Luke unzipped the back of her dress, and she turned around to face him. "Meet you at the bed in five minutes," she said, and kissed him before grabbing the overnight bag and heading into the bathroom.

. . . . .

. . . . .

Later that night, Lorelai was in the bathroom running a bath and Luke walked in carrying their wine glasses he'd just refilled. When the bath water reached the level she wanted, she turned it off, took off the plush robe she was wearing, and stepped into the tub, wincing a little as she started to sit down.

"That's hot, but it feels good," she replied as she settled into it. "You're joining me, right?"

Luke tentatively eyed the tub. "Is there enough room? We both have long legs."

Lorelai pulled her knees to her chest. "Look, you can totally squeeze in over there." She looked up at him with a pout. "Just for a few minutes?"

Luke handed her the wine glasses to set on the back ledge of the tub, then took off his boxers, stepped into the tub, and sat across from her.

"This is nice," Lorelai said, and she stretched out one of her legs along the side of the tub.

"Relaxing," Luke said. He slipped one hand into the water and began caressing her leg, and she hummed contently.

She took a sip of wine, and then set her glass back down on the ledge. She tightened the messy bun on top of her head, then leaned her head back and closed her eyes. "If I fall asleep and slowly start to slip under the water - "

"I'll tell the kids you loved them," Luke said.

Lorelai smirked and opened her eyes. "I was gonna suggest you wake me up instead of watching me drown, but okay."

"Ohhh, okay, I got it... I'll do that instead," Luke said, smiling at her. "You ready to get some sleep after this?"

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah. You?"

"Yeah, I think we could both use a good night's sleep."

"What's that?" Lorelai joked. "Because much like our last date, I can't remember the last time either of us had this thing you refer to as a good night's sleep."

"Yeah, that's why we should take advantage of that tonight."

Lorelai nodded in agreement. "And then on the plus side, we'll have some energy to get in another round of naughtiness in the morning. Who doesn't love a good morning romp to start off Valentine's Day?"

"Or any day, really," Luke replied. He took a sip of his wine and they were quiet for a moment before he asked, "Is it crazy that I feel guilty for having a good time tonight?"

"No, I know what you mean," Lorelai said. "It's like you feel like a bad parent for enjoying yourself when you're away from your kid."

"Yeah, exactly."

"It's normal," Lorelai assured him. "It's like when you have a rough day so you reward yourself with a pint of ice cream because you deserved it, and then you feel guilty."

Luke smirked at her. "When have you ever felt guilty for eating ice cream... or anything, for that matter?"

Lorelai smiled and shrugged. "I'm just saying, I've heard that's a thing - that some people feel guilty for eating crap."

"Yeah, that's a thing," he confirmed.

"Well, tonight is our pint of ice cream, and we're gonna need to eat more ice cream in our lifetime to stay sane, so we need to ignore that post ice cream guilt because we work hard and we are great parents and we deserve that ice cream."

Luke nodded in agreement. "I'll try to ignore it."

"Oh, hey, you know what might help distract you?" Lorelai said, and then she gestured to her body. "Your very attractive naked wife sitting across from you. Focus on that."

Luke smiled. "Trust me, I am very focused on that, but she's tired, so I'm being good right now."

"Well, maybe she doesn't want you to be good." Lorelai maneuvered in the tub so she was sitting directly in front of him with her back against his chest. "There, now everything's within easy reach... how's that for a distraction?"

Luke smirked and kissed the side of her neck. "Can't think of a better one."

. . . . .

. . . . .

When they arrived home the next morning and walked through the front door, they were greeted by a crowd in the living room. Along with the morning shift of Rory, Lane, and Miss Patty were also Babette and Morey.

"Wow, hi, guys," Lorelai greeted them. "It's like a welcome home party."

"We just wanted to check in on things," Babette said.

"But everything's going fine," Miss Patty assured them. "He's an angel."

"He was really good," Rory added. "It was much easier than I thought it would be."

Rory and Lane were sitting on the floor with the baby on his play mat, and Lorelai immediately kneeled down in front of him. "Hi there, little man," Lorelai cooed as she picked him up and nuzzled him to her chest. "We're back... we missed you."

Lorelai stood up with him and walked over to Luke, who ran his hand over Josh's hair before kissing him on the head. They sat down on the couch and the babysitting team filled them in on how the last 16 hours had gone.

Fifteen minutes later, after Luke and Lorelai thanked them profusely for helping out, everyone had left except for Rory.

"So, did you guys have a nice time?" Rory asked.

Lorelai smiled at Luke before looking back at Rory. "Amazing. We had a delicious dinner at that new Italian place in Berlin, and then we went to the inn where we spent the evening talking and reading articles from the Stars Hollow Gazette to each other." Lorelai patted Luke on the leg. "Right, hon?"

"Yup, that's always been a favorite pastime of ours," Luke confirmed.

"And then we slept in separate rooms," Lorelai finished.

Rory smiled. "Well, good, I'm glad it was a good date night."

"Oh, and Luke gave me this," Lorelai said, patting the necklace hanging from her neck. "Isn't it beautiful?"

Rory leaned closer to look at it and nodded in agreement. "Very. Good job, Luke."

"Thanks," Luke replied, and then he stood up from the couch. "I gotta get ready to go. I'm gonna take this up." He picked up their overnight bag and started walking upstairs.

"Caesar closed the diner last night and opened it this morning, so Luke's gonna go to work for awhile to give him a break," Lorelai explained to Rory. "I'm just gonna watch movies and eat chocolate and play with Josh today. You wanna hang around for a little while or do you have to get back to school?"

Rory checked the clock. "Yeah, I can stay for a few hours, then I have to go work on a research paper that's due this week."

Lorelai smiled. "Okay, cool. I get to spend some of Valentine's Day with both my babies."

A few minutes later, Luke walked back down to the living room. "I'm gonna head out before Caesar has a breakdown."

"Okay, we'll walk you out," Lorelai said, and she stood up from the couch. "Rory's gonna stay for a few hours, but she'll probably be gone by the time you get back."

"Oh, okay," Luke said, and he looked over at Rory. "Thanks again for helping, we really appreciate it."

Rory smiled. "You're welcome."

Lorelai, with Josh in her arms, followed Luke to the front door. "I'll be home before dinner," he told her. "You've got a home-cooked Valentine's Day meal coming your way."

"Okay." Lorelai leaned in to kiss him. "Thank you for last night." She kissed him again and smiled against his lips as she added, "And this morning."

"Back at ya," he replied, and then he kissed Josh's head. "Bye, buddy." Luke walked out the front door, and Lorelai and Josh returned to the living room.

. . . . .

. . . . .

A few days later, on Tuesday night, Lorelai arrived early at Miss Patty's for the town meeting. As she sat down in a chair, Kirk walked over to her. "Lorelai, I noticed you don't have the baby with you."

"Good observation, Kirk," Lorelai said.

"Do you need me to go babysit?" Kirk asked. "I can leave right now and go watch him for you."

"No, I don't need a babysitter tonight, Kirk, but thanks."

"Are you sure? Because you shouldn't leave babies home alone at night, they're scared of the dark," Kirk told her.

Lorelai narrowed her eyes. "Okay, to clarify, you shouldn't leave babies home alone _ever_ , and he's not alone, he's with Luke."

"But it would probably be good if he had an extra set of hands to help him, right?"

"I think he's okay, but I'll tell you what, Kirk... if Luke happens to break both of his hands and needs to watch the baby by himself, then, yes, we will consider using you as an extra set of hands."

Kirk pumped his fist. "Yes! I will not let you down."

"I know you won't, Kirk," Lorelai replied, and smiled when she saw Sookie approaching behind him. "Hey, Sookie."

"Hey," Sookie replied as she slipped into the seat next to Lorelai.

"Sookie, I notice you don't have your baby with you," Kirk greeted her. "Do you need me to watch him?"

"Kirk, we'll call you if we need a babysitter," Lorelai said, and then pointed toward the front of the room. "You should go see if Taylor needs help. He looks confused."

"Oh, shoot," Kirk said, and he quickly walked away.

Lorelai smiled at Sookie. "How's it going? I didn't know you were coming tonight."

"I wasn't planning on it, but I got the baby down for bed early and then I decided, you know what, I'm gonna go out. I don't care where, I'm just gonna get out of the house because I'm sick of spending every single night at home. So I came here."

Lorelai smiled. "Well, look at you getting all wild and crazy."

Sookie excitedly patted Lorelai's leg. "Yeah, and now it's like a girls' night out."

"A very sad girls' night out," Lorelai remarked. Andrew walked into the dance studio carrying a box of Girl Scout cookies, and Lorelai gasped. "Where'd you get those?"

Andrew gestured toward the door. "A couple of girls just set up a table out front."

Lorelai's eyes widened and she looked at Sookie. "Our girls' night out just got so much better. Save my seat, I'll be right back." She grabbed her purse and went outside, returning a few minutes later with three different boxes of cookies.

"Wow, you don't mess around," Sookie said.

Lorelai handed a box to Sookie. "Variety is the spice of life. Let's eat."

The meeting started, and after Taylor scolded those who were snacking on outside food, he went through a couple of announcements. He finished the meeting by discussing the annual Spring Fling festival.

"We're looking for volunteers to run booths, help with set up and clean up, and to pick up the manure from the pony rides," Taylor said. "The sign-up sheet will be up front after the meeting." He banged his gavel on the podium. "Meeting adjourned."

As people started to stand up to leave, Lorelai turned to Sookie. "The inn's already pretty booked for Spring Fling weekend."

"I'm already planning the Spring Fling menu," Sookie said. "Lots of light colorful dishes with fresh veggies."

"Good, good," Lorelai said approvingly. "It'll be great."

"Plus, it's the first Spring Fling festival for our boys," Sookie pointed out. "So that'll be cute."

"Very." Lorelai gathered her cookie boxes and stood up from her chair. "Ready to go?"

"Yes," Sookie replied. "I hope the cookie girls are still out there. I wanna buy a box for Jackson."

They walked out of the dance studio. Sookie bought a box of cookies, and Lorelai decided to add another two boxes to her own haul, and then they each headed home.

When Lorelai walked into the house, she found Luke standing in front of the hall closet. The doors were open and he was staring into it as he held Josh in one arm.

He turned around when he heard the front door open. "Hey," he greeted her, and then his eyes went to her armful of cookie boxes. "Wow."

"I stocked up," she said proudly as she set them on the foyer table.

"I see that."

Lorelai took off her jacket and hung it up, and then walked over to them. She kissed Luke hello, and then took Josh from him, kissing his cheek as she said, "Hi, baby. Did you miss me? I told you I wouldn't be long."

"How was the meeting?" Luke asked.

"It was good. They're starting to get ready for the Spring Fling."

"Oh, goody, it's that time of year again," he said dryly. "You sign up for something?"

Lorelai shook her head. "Nah. I figured it's Josh's first time, I just wanna go and enjoy it and not have to work."

"You're gonna try to make him ride a pony, aren't you?"

Lorelai grinned. "Of course. Make sure we bring the video camera." She nodded her head toward the closet behind him. "So, this is the third time since you cleaned this closet that I've found you randomly looking into it. Are you just admiring your great cleaning job or are you looking for Carol Anne? Stay away from the light!"

Luke narrowed his eyes with confusion. "Huh?"

" _Poltergeist_ , baby... watch it. It's a classic."

"Ah." Luke turned to face the closet. "Actually, I've been thinking that maybe we should talk to Tom about turning it into another bathroom."

Lorelai's eyes widened. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, I think we can do it. And then look over here." He led her a few steps back to the foyer and patted the wall facing the front door. "I think we can put a smaller closet here for some storage."

Lorelai smiled and nodded approvingly. "I'm loving this idea. We definitely need another bathroom." She nodded to Josh. "Especially when this guy starts potty training, we're gonna get tired of running him upstairs all the time."

"Oh, good point, I hadn't even thought of that," Luke said. "Okay, so, I guess I'll give Tom a call this week, see if he can come give us an estimate."

"That's a good project to put our tax refund towards," Lorelai said, and then she leaned down to kiss Josh's forehead. "Thank you, new claimed dependent, for giving us a little boost this year."

"You know, it might be a good idea to think about doing some more remodeling," Luke said. "Eventually, down the road, especially since you're set on staying in this house forever."

"Yes, I am," she confirmed. "Including after my death."

"So, then, maybe there are some things we can do to make it more comfortable," Luke continued. "Like maybe enlarge our bedroom."

Lorelai's eyes widened with intrigue. "Ooh. Keep talking."

"We can extend it out a little, maybe add a bigger closet."

Lorelai fanned her face with her hand to cool herself down. "You're turning me on so much right now."

Luke seductively leaned in closer as he added, "Maybe even add an attached master bathroom."

Lorelai groaned softly. "Oh, God, make love to me this instant."

Luke snorted a laugh and looked down at Josh. "Are you taking notes, kid? I'm showing you the way to a woman's heart."

"Seriously, that would be amazing," Lorelai said. "Is there enough room to do all that?"

"Definitely," Luke replied. "We can even make Josh's room bigger, maybe add another bedroom up there..." He shrugged casually as he added, "Just in case we decide that we might need one someday."

They stared at each other for a beat before Lorelai said, "You mean in case Kirk's mom throws him out?"

"Exactly."

"Well, then, yeah, I think it would be smart to have one," Lorelai said with her own casual shrug. "Just in case we need it someday."

Luke smiled. "Good." He gestured toward the living room staircase. "I gotta look for the measuring tape, I think it's upstairs."

Lorelai stepped closer to him and squeezed his biceps. "But then you'll come back down and sweet talk me with more remodeling ideas?"

Luke smirked. "Yeah, I might even start talking about a custom shoe rack for your new enlarged closet."

Lorelai's mouth dropped open. "God, could you be any sexier?"

Luke smiled and leaned in to kiss her. "I'll be right back."

. . . . .

. . . . .

A few days later, on Sunday afternoon, Luke was getting dressed in the bedroom when Lorelai walked in. "I just put the boy down for his nap," she said as she tiredly collapsed onto the bed. "You look nice."

Luke glanced down at his grey pants and black sweater. "You sure this is okay?"

"Yeah, it's fine," Lorelai said, propping herself up on her elbows. "Are you sure you wanna go through with this? I can call and make up an excuse for you. I have no qualms about lying to my parents, trust me."

"Your dad will just reschedule it," Luke replied. "Might as well get it over with."

"I can't believe you said yes so quickly," Lorelai said, shaking her head disappointedly at him. "Have I taught you nothing? You put up a fight for as long as you possibly can until they wear you down to a meaty pulp."

"Sorry, I forgot." He walked over and leaned down to kiss her. "I'll see you later."

"Bye. Fake a stomach illness if you need to get out of there early."

Two days earlier, Richard had caught them off guard at Friday night dinner by suggesting that Luke join him for lunch at the club on Sunday afternoon. Lorelai immediately tried to get him out of it by saying his weekends were usually pretty busy. After Emily then jumped in with a comment about how it wouldn't kill Luke to spend a couple of hours with his father-in-law, Luke felt guilty and agreed to the lunch.

About 45 minutes after Luke had left for the club on Sunday, the phone rang. Lorelai, in the middle of sorting a basket of clean laundry on the bed, grabbed the phone from the nightstand and answered, "Hello?"

"It's not just me and your dad," Luke greeted her. "Christopher's here."

Lorelai gasped. "What? Are you serious?"

"As I was walking up to the club restaurant, I saw him walking in," Luke replied. "I held back and watched through the window as a waiter led him over to the table your father was at. The table is set for three!"

"Oh, my God."

"I feel like I've been set up on a blind date. Is this what people on a blind date feel like, this anxious feeling of dread? Is it still a blind date if you already know the person? I've never been on one, but now I remember why I hated dating."

"Okay, one, stop referring to lunch with my dad and Chris as a date, and two, I cannot believe they tried to ambush you," Lorelai said angrily. "My stupid parents. Forget the lunch... just come home."

"Stand them up? I can't do that, I'd never hear the end of it," Luke said.

"We'll make up an excuse," Lorelai said. "We'll call and say there was an emergency, that you were in a fiery car wreck."

"No, it's okay, I have to go in there. I just needed to rant a little first."

"I can guarantee that my mother orchestrated this," Lorelai said. "And if she thinks it's okay to pull crap like this, then let's see how she likes it when she doesn't see Josh again until he's in kindergarten."

"We can't do that."

"Yes, we can... it's one of the benefits of having a kid. We get to control who sees him."

"I'm serious, Lorelai," Luke replied firmly. "You're not using our son as some sort of punishment every time you're mad at your parents. It's evil and heartless."

"Uh, hello, where do you think I inherited those traits from?"

Luke was quiet for a moment as he stared through the window. "I'm going in," he finally said.

"No, Luke, just get out of there. You don't have to do this."

"I'll go in, I'll eat lunch with them, I'll try to keep the conversation light, it'll be fine," he assured her. "I'll see you later, okay?"

Lorelai sighed into the phone. "Okay. Bye."

"Bye," he said, and he hung up the phone.

Lorelai turned off the phone, then immediately turned it back on and dialed her mother.

"Hello?" Emily answered.

"Did you arrange for Luke and Chris to have lunch with Dad at the club?" Lorelai greeted her.

"Why, Lorelai, hello," Emily calmly replied, as if she'd been expecting the call. "How are you doing?"

Lorelai exhaled a heavy sigh into the phone. "Mom, you have ten seconds to explain what's going on or we won't be visiting again for a very, very, very long time."

"Well, I found out Christopher would be in town this weekend and I thought it might be nice for the men to have a nice lunch together," Emily replied. "Wasn't that a lovely idea?"

" _Would be_ in town," Lorelai repeated. "Spoken in the future tense... so it wasn't some spur of the moment thing today, you planned this setup all along."

"Yes, and it all worked out just perfectly. When I found out Christopher would be in town, I suggested your father invite Luke to the club this weekend," Emily said. "And then when that was set, I called Christopher to see if he was available at that time, and he was."

"But why?!" Lorelai exclaimed. " _Why_ would you do that?"

"These men are the fathers of our grandchildren, Lorelai," Emily reminded her. "And I sensed some tension the last time Luke and Christopher were around each other. You remember, the day of the photo shoot."

"They were _completely_ fine and civil that day, Mom," Lorelai said. "Unless you witnessed a fistfight that I didn't see."

"Fine and civil are not the same as comfortable, Lorelai, and they need a chance to be comfortable around each other."

"So, if you were trying to get them together, why didn't you just invite Christopher over for dinner on Friday night? Was that not quite manipulative enough for you, you had to plan a secret lunch outing for them instead?"

Emily paused for a moment. "Well, frankly, I thought maybe they'd feel less awkward and more comfortable around each other if you weren't around."

Lorelai gasped. "Oh, my God. What are you gonna do, kill me off?"

"My God, you're so dramatic," Emily said.

Lorelai shook her head angrily at the phone. "This is insane. Did Dad know? Did Chris know? Or did you set them _all_ up for a surprise threesome?"

"I told your father right before he left that Christopher would be joining them," Emily said. "But I certainly couldn't tell Christopher or Luke because they might have backed out."

"And what does that tell you, Mother? That they wouldn't want to have lunch together. So why would you try to force it?"

"Because someone had to do it. They need to see each other and interact to form a friendship, Lorelai," Emily insisted. "And they can't do that if you're always around jumping in and trying to keep the conversation generic. Let them get to know each other and have their own discussions."

Lorelai exhaled a heavy sigh into the phone and took a few deep breaths. "Mom, do not do anything like this ever again, do you hear me?" she said calmly.

"I would've thought you'd be more appreciative since I'm doing this for Luke," Emily told her. "He didn't seem comfortable and I was trying to fix that for him."

"Okay, well, you're officially banned from trying to help Luke with anything ever again."

"Have you stopped to consider that he might actually have a nice time?" Emily asked. "That a simple lunch with Christopher at the club is not as horrible a situation as you think it is?"

"No, I haven't thought about anything except the fact that you didn't give him a _choice_ to go to lunch with Christopher at the club!" Lorelai exclaimed. "You tricked him, Mom. If you want him to have lunch with Dad or Christopher or anyone else, you call Luke and ask him and let him decide. You don't ambush people. It's a simple concept, I don't get why it's so hard for you to grasp."

"Sometimes people don't realize that they want or need something until they're in the situation, so you have to take a creative approach to get them there," Emily replied. "I did what was necessary."

Lorelai groaned. "Mother, I swear..." Her voice trailed off when she heard the baby whimpering from the nursery, and Lorelai took a deep breath. "Forget it. I have to go."

. . . . .

. . . . .

Later that afternoon, Lorelai was sitting on the living room floor reattaching a button on one of Luke's flannel shirts. Josh was sitting on his playmat next to her surrounded by toys, but occupying himself with the TV remote.

Lorelai had been glancing at the clock all afternoon waiting for Luke to return home, and when the front door finally opened, she quickly looked over at it. "Hey, hon."

"Hey," he said as he walked into the living room. "What are you up to?"

"Well, while he sits here fascinated with the remote control, demonstrating once again that he's definitely my son, I'm catching up on some sewing," Lorelai replied, and then she cut the thread with a pair of scissors and held up his shirt. "There... good as new," she said as she tossed him the shirt.

"Thanks," he replied, and hung the shirt on the banister to take upstairs.

Lorelai put her sewing supplies into her sewing basket and put it on the coffee table to get it out of the way. "Come sit, tell me about lunch." She frowned as she added, "I'm sorry you got roped into that."

Luke took off his jacket before sitting on the ottoman next to her. "It wasn't so bad," Luke said. "Chris said he didn't know it was gonna be the three of us, and your dad had just found out right before he left the house."

Lorelai nodded. "That's the story I got from Emily, too."

"You called her?" Luke asked, and then he sighed. "You threatened to keep Josh away, didn't you?"

Lorelai grimaced slightly. "Not specifically. I just said we wouldn't be visiting for a long time if she didn't tell me what was going on. Do you want to know what her explanation was? Basically, that you seemed tense around Chris the last time she saw you together and she wanted to try to fix that."

"How nice of her," Luke said with an eyeroll.

"Yeah. Get this - she said she wanted you and Chris to have a chance to chat without _me_ around. That _I'm_ the one that makes things uncomfortable and that's why you guys feel awkward around each other." She scoffed and shook her head in disbelief. "Which I told her is crazy because you two get along fine."

"Yeah, that _is_ crazy," Luke agreed, and then looked down at Josh on the floor. "Look how good he sits up now. He doesn't fall over anymore."

Lorelai eyed him for a moment, intrigued by his sudden change of topic. "Luke... _do_ I make things awkward?"

Luke exhaled a deep breath as he shrugged a little. "Not... you know... intentionally."

Lorelai's eyes widened. "Wait, seriously? You're agreeing with my mother?"

"Well, I mean... he and I aren't really being ourselves when you're there," he admitted. "I get in this weird defensive mood..."

"The thing that looks like jealousy but you say it's not?" Lorelai interjected.

"Yes, and it's not jealousy," he replied, and then continued, "And he's usually got some sort of guard up or something, and we don't just talk like two normal people would talk."

"And today...?"

Luke shrugged. "It was awkward at first, the three of us just sitting there, making stupid small talk, deciding what to order. But then your dad disappeared for awhile... he said he saw some people he knew, but I'm guessing maybe Emily told him to try to give us time alone."

"Probably."

"And Chris made a comment about how the surprise lunch thing was really weird, and I agreed, and we both relaxed a little. We started chatting about some basic stuff, and it wasn't the most fascinating conversation in the world, but it wasn't so bad."

" _Basic stuff_?" Lorelai repeated. "What does that category entail? Me?"

"No, we didn't talk about you," Luke replied. "We talked about his motorcycle, some new stereo system he just got in his car, a little sports talk, stuff like that. Just general chit chat."

"And... it was fine?" Lorelai asked incredulously. "You and Chris were just general-chit-chatting it up like old pals and everything was _fine_?"

Luke stared at her for a second. "Why are you asking it like _that_ , like you're mad that it was fine?"

"Because I'm just surprised. It's just... I don't know... weird." Lorelai suddenly stood up from the floor. "I'm gonna go get a drink."

Luke grabbed her hand to keep her from walking away. "Whoa, whoa, whoa... hold on. Are you seriously mad that I didn't have a horrible time at lunch like you thought I would?"

Lorelai turned around to face him and huffed out a sigh. "Kind of," she admitted. "Because that means my mother was right, and can you think of a worse possible thing in the world?"

"Uh, yeah, I can," he replied. "In no particular order, murderers... hurricanes... cancer... one of those buttons coming off the remote and choking our kid." He paused and eyed the remote in Josh's hands. "Should he be playing with that?"

Lorelai folded her arms across her chest. "Luke, come on."

"What's the big deal, Lorelai?"

"I just told you the big deal! My mother was right." She gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. "I hate when she's right."

"But it's not some big shocker that it's a little easier to talk to the guy when the woman we've both been with _isn't_ standing right next to us," Luke pointed out. "Anybody could have theorized that, it's not some super special insight that your mother had."

Lorelai shifted her feet. "I guess."

"And nothing's changed," he added. "It's not like we're best friends now, it was just a casual lunch conversation. We'll probably be just as awkward as we've always been the next time we see each other."

"Yeah, probably because _I'll_ be there," she muttered.

Luke shook his head at her. "Stop. It is what it is."

"Yeah, it's me ruining everything I'm around," she muttered.

Luke rolled his eyes. "Geez. You're being a little -"

"Do not say dramatic," she interrupted, holding up her hand for him to stop. "My mother already called me that today."

Luke promptly closed his mouth for a moment. "Okay, I won't say it." He stood up and put his hands on her shoulders, and calmly said, "I will say this... the bottom line is that I went out and had an okay lunch with okay conversation with my step-daughter's father and her grandfather, which to me sounds like not a bad thing." He cocked his head to the side and pointedly said, "Right?

Lorelai wrinkled her nose for a few seconds and then admitted, "Right."

"Yes, it was weird the way your mom did it, but it's done, it's not anything to be upset about. Don't waste any more energy on it." He leaned in and kissed her, and then said, "Okay?"

"Okay," she reluctantly agreed. She glanced down at the baby and then back at Luke. "Keep an eye on him while I go make some coffee?"

"Sure."

Lorelai started to walk toward the kitchen and then abruptly spun around to face him. "Oh, by the way, Tom called, he's coming over tomorrow night to look at the closet."

"Okay," Luke replied, but then he snapped his fingers. "Oh, shoot... I can't tomorrow night, I have plans."

"You do?"

"Yeah, Chris and I were gonna go out and grab a beer to solidify our new friendship," Luke replied with a straight face. "I'd invite you along, but... you know... might be awkward." His lips slowly curved into a sly smile.

Lorelai shook her head amusedly as she grabbed his shirt from the banister and playfully threw it at him. "Mean! And too soon!"

Luke smirked. "I apologize." He walked over to her and pulled her into a tight hug. "Forgive me?"

"Fine," she told him, and then she pulled back from the hug to look at him. "Only if you forgive me for cutting up that old blue and red flannel with the frayed edges."

"Cutting it up for what?"

Lorelai grinned and turned toward her sewing basket. She pulled out a mini-flannel shirt for Josh that she was crafting from Luke's old one. "He outgrew the tiny flannel shirt he got as a newborn gift, so I thought I could put your old shirt to good use. I haven't started sewing it yet, but I finished pinning it today."

Luke smiled as he took it from her to look it over. "That's really cute." He leaned in to kiss her, adding, "You're forgiven."

. . . . .

. . . . .

Two weeks later, on the first Saturday of March, Sookie, Jackson and Davey came over for dinner. Lorelai and Rory were leaving for Europe the next day, and Sookie arrived with some travel-inspired desserts.

"We've got an English trifle, French macaroons, and Irish cream truffles," Sookie said as she set three containers down on the kitchen table.

"Trifle and truffles," Lorelai remarked. "Are you sure there's not a French dessert called a traffle? Because then you would've had a cool theme."

Sookie giggled. "Maybe I should invent one."

"Sookie, this is amazing," Lorelai gushed. "When on Earth did you have time to do all this? I barely have time to make myself a peanut butter sandwich."

"That's true, she makes me make it for her," Luke said as he joined them in the kitchen.

Lorelai smiled at him. "Well, you're just so much better at the peanut buttering than I am."

Luke walked over to the slow cooker on the counter and gave his chili a stir. "This is done," he said. "Are we ready to eat?"

"Yes. We can eat in the living room with the babies," Lorelai said, and she picked up the bowl of homemade cornbread from the table. "I'll take this out there and let Jackson know."

Lorelai headed to the living room where Jackson was settling Davey into his bouncy seat next to Josh in his swing. She set the basket of cornbread on the coffee table. "The chili's done, so come grab a bowl."

"Okay, it smells incredible," Jackson said.

They returned to the kitchen, and then all four adults made their way into the living room with their food. The ladies sat on the couch, and the guys sat in the armchairs across from them, and they began chatting while they ate.

"So, are you all packed?" Sookie asked.

"Not even close," Luke replied.

Lorelai scoffed at him. "Excuse me, I believe that question was directed at me." She turned to Sookie and declared, "Not even close."

Sookie giggled. "You do realize you're leaving tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah, Rory's gonna help me finish in the morning," Lorelai replied. "Our flight's not until four."

"Where _is_ Rory?" Sookie asked. "I thought she was home for break now."

"She is, she's over at Lane's," Lorelai replied. "Getting in her own best friend time before we leave."

"Ah, gotcha," Sookie replied, and then she looked over at Luke. "And how'd the first week of the Mr. Stay-at-home-Dad-in-the-morning routine work out?"

"Amazing," Lorelai replied. "He loved it."

Luke feigned an offended scoff. "Excuse me, I believe that question was directed at me," he teased, and then he looked at Sookie. "Amazing. I loved it."

"Yeah?" Sookie asked, smiling.

"Yup. I get to spend the mornings with him, Lorelai has him in the afternoons, and then we're all together by dinner time. It's great."

"Gotta say, it does sound pretty perfect," Sookie said.

"It does, doesn't it?" Lorelai replied. She bit into a piece of cornbread before adding, "Not everyone thinks so, as we found out last night at Friday night dinner."

"Uh oh," Sookie said. "Your parents?"

"Grandmother," Lorelai replied. "She would prefer that we hire Mrs. Doubtfire to watch Josh, some Mary Poppins-esque older nanny to help rear the kid for the next few years until he starts pre-school."

"Why does it matter what she prefers?" Jackson asked.

"She's the one who gave them money to take him out of daycare and find private care at home," Sookie explained to Jackson.

"And so far we haven't actually used any of her money," Lorelai said. "But she did give it to us for that reason, and so of course she's going to comment on how we use it."

"What'd she say?" Sookie asked.

"Well, during dinner I casually mentioned the new routine," Lorelai explained. "I just said that Luke was watching him in the mornings now instead of daycare."

"Which her mother loved hearing because she has this weird hatred for daycare," Luke added.

"And Gran didn't say anything then, but when we were getting ready to leave, she asked to speak to me in the study," Lorelai said. "She told me that she really wanted me to reconsider the new routine and try to find a qualified nanny to watch him at the house."

"I don't get it," Sookie said, narrowing her eyes with confusion. "Who would be opposed to a father taking care of his kid?"

"She believes that women are better nurturers," Lorelai said. "So, she was spouting that stuff at me and I stayed calm at first, but then she made a remark about how she _likes_ Luke but thinks he needs more time to really develop his parenting skills." She shook her head slightly. "That's when I kind of snapped."

Sookie winced. "What do you mean, snapped?"

Lorelai exhaled a heavy sigh. "Well, I raised my voice to her, which I've never done before, which she does not take well and pretty much considers the ultimate sign of disrespect."

"I could hear it out in the hallway," Luke said.

"And it wasn't _horrible_ ," Lorelai said. "It was just me loudly telling her that Luke's an amazing father and that it'll be good for Josh to be raised by his parents... you know, all the things a normal person would say in that situation. And even though I apologized immediately, she probably hates me now and I have a feeling she's gonna take back the money."

"I don't think she will," Luke said. "I think if she was going to, she would've said it right then and there. She still wants him at home instead of in daycare, even if she doesn't want _me_ to be the one watching him."

Lorelai shrugged. "We'll see. We better come up with a backup plan just in case we lose it, though."

"We'll figure it out," Luke assured her.

"At least you apologized right away and didn't leave things angrily," Sookie pointed out. "That's good."

"Yeah, and I also wrote her an apology letter today because she's really big on written correspondence," Lorelai said. "So that should help smooth things over."

"Hopefully," Sookie said. "But wow, that sucks. Sorry it was such a crazy ending to the night."

"Yeah. Let's talk about something happier now," Lorelai said.

"What's going on with the new bathroom?" Sookie asked.

"Oh, Tom's gonna get started in a few weeks," Lorelai replied with an excited smile. "I can't wait."

"I wanted to try to get it done while they were in Europe," Luke added. "But that idea got shot down."

"Because you're gonna have babysitters in and out all week," Lorelai pointed out. "It would have been too much going on if you also had a construction crew here, too."

"I know, your points were valid," Luke agreed.

"Thank you," Lorelai replied.

"When you get back from your trip, we should talk about the babysitting tradeoff you mentioned," Sookie said.

"We're trading our babies?" Luke asked, narrowing his eyes at Lorelai.

Lorelai smiled. "Baby _sitting_ tradeoff. Remember, we're gonna take turns watching each other's kid so we don't all collectively go insane."

"Oh, right, right," Luke said, nodding his head as he recalled their conversation about it.

"Yeah, we're totally on board," Sookie said as she gestured to Jackson. "Whenever you guys are ready."

"We'll figure out a schedule when we get back from Europe," Lorelai said.

Luke finished his beer and stood up to go get another. "Anyone need anything from the kitchen?"

"Can you grab more napkins?" Lorelai replied.

"I'll take another water," Sookie replied.

Jackson stood up. "Here, I'll help you."

As the men walked away, Lorelai watched them until they disappeared into the kitchen, and then looked over at Josh in the swing. "I'm excited about the trip, but I'm really gonna miss my boys, Sookie."

"Yeah, I can imagine," Sookie said.

"You'll check up on them, right?" Lorelai asked.

"Of course," Sookie promised.

"I mean, I know Luke can handle this fine, but I just don't want him to get overwhelmed," Lorelai said.

"They'll be fine," Sookie assured her. "He'll have people checking on him the whole time you're gone, don't worry. That includes Jackson and I, probably to the point where he starts to hate us."

Lorelai smiled appreciatively. "Thank you."

. . . . .

. . . . .

The next afternoon, Luke was on the floor of the living room in front of the fireplace playing with Josh while Lorelai and Rory were upstairs packing. When he finally heard them walking down, he glanced over and saw Lorelai bringing her suitcase down the stairs.

"I would've carried that down for you," Luke said to Lorelai.

"It's okay, I have to get used to lugging it around anyway," Lorelai said, and she wheeled it over to the front door.

"I'm gonna do one final check of my stuff," Rory said as she headed toward her bedroom.

Lorelai returned to the living room and sat down on the floor next to Luke. "I have one hour of boy time left." She reached for Josh to move him in front of her and began playing peek-a-boo with him.

Luke reached for a piece of paper from the coffee table. "Any last minute items you want to add to the list?" As they'd discussed weeks ago, they had started jotting down reminders about Josh's daily routine for Luke to refer to.

"Yes," Lorelai replied. "Did I put on there that I want you to show him a picture of me at least five times a day so he doesn't forget my face?"

Luke smirked and scanned the front of the list, and then turned it over to scan the back. "Oh, yeah, there it is."

"Okay, good, just checking," she said, and then she smiled down at the baby. "We don't want Joshy to forget his mama, do we? No, we don't." She lifted him up and hugged him to her chest.

Luke watched as she closed her eyes and swayed with the baby for a few moments. When she opened her eyes, he saw that they were teary. Luke put the list down and started rubbing her back. "You okay?" he asked.

Lorelai nodded quickly as she sniffled. "Yeah, I'm good. It's just hitting me a little bit."

"It's gonna be okay," Luke told her. "It'll go fast."

Lorelai nodded in agreement, and she made some faces at the baby and tickled his neck to make him giggle. "Oh, I'm gonna miss that adorable laugh."

"That laugh will be here when you get back," he told her. "Plus, you have calling cards - just call whenever you want. I'll hold the phone up to him, throw on some _I Love Lucy_ reruns, get him laughing away for ya."

Lorelai smiled and leaned in to kiss him. As they separated, she traced her finger along his jawline and softly said, "I'm gonna miss you."

"Me, too."

"Promise me you're gonna look at pictures of me at least five times a day, too," Lorelai said. "I don't want you forgetting my face either."

"Trust me, I'm not going to forget your face." He leaned in to kiss her and smiled against her lips before adding, "Or your body."

Lorelai grinned and kissed him again. "Good."

. . . . .

. . . . .

When Luke drove them to the airport, instead of dropping them off at the curb, he parked the car in the parking lot and walked them in to spend a few last minutes with them before saying goodbye.

Luke waited with Josh on a bench while Lorelai and Rory went to check their bags. When they returned, Lorelai sat down next to Luke and pulled the baby into her lap.

"Remember, the list of phone numbers for all the people we've deemed trustworthy enough to watch him is on the fridge in case of an emergency," Lorelai said.

"You showed me before we left," Luke reminded her. "There won't be any emergencies."

"You don't know that," Lorelai countered. "That's what an emergency is - it's not planned, it's unexpected, it's a surprise, you never know when one will pop up. It could happen when you least expect it or are least prepared for it, and you might need help, and that's okay - don't be afraid to ask for help."

"Don't worry," he told her calmly.

"A copy of our itinerary is on the fridge, too," Rory said. "So you can follow along with where we are."

"Yup, saw that, too," Luke said with a nod.

They sat and chatted for a few minutes before Rory said, "Okay, we should probably go to the security line. You're supposed to allow a lot of time for that."

Lorelai exhaled a sigh. "Okay, yeah, we should go." They stood up from the bench, and she looked over at Luke. "Any last minute questions, concerns, inquiries about this one?" she asked as she kissed Josh's head.

Luke shook his head. "Nope. It's all under control. We've got a schedule, our days are planned out, I've got the list of all things Josh... we're set. We're gonna be fine."

"Okay." Lorelai looked down at the baby. "Mommy has to go now," she whispered. Josh reached a hand toward her wavy hair and clasped his little fingers around a few strands. Lorelai smiled. "Oh, is that your subtle attempt at getting me to stay, pulling the hair?" She gently unclenched his fingers from her hair and hugged him to her chest. "Mommy loves you so much... be good for Daddy. I'll see you next week." She kissed his cheek and passed the baby over to Rory. "Here, can you say goodbye to your brother while I say goodbye to my husband?"

"Sure." Rory took the baby and walked a few feet away to give them some privacy.

Luke and Lorelai stood facing each other and she took a deep breath before she said, "You know, this would be a lot easier if you were less amazing and more of a jerk. Then I wouldn't really mind leaving you for ten days."

Luke smiled. "I'll work on that for next time."

"I would much appreciate it." Lorelai stepped closer and hugged him tightly, and he wrapped his arms around her. "I love you a lot."

"I love you, too," he replied.

"Thank you for holding down the fort," Lorelai said.

"Anytime." He kissed her cheek and pulled back to look at her. "Have fun, be safe, and don't worry about us. You can _miss_ us, but don't _worry._ Worrying will make you not enjoy yourself, and then the whole trip is a waste. Okay?"

Lorelai nodded. "Got it. No worrying. Everything's under control. You have already decided that there will be no emergencies, so everything will be fine."

Luke smiled. "Right." He leaned in to kiss her, and then whispered against her lips, "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you, too," she whispered back. She kissed him again and pulled back with a sigh. "Okay, off we go."

Rory walked back over to them, handed the baby to Luke, and then hugged him goodbye. "Bye, Luke... thanks for arranging this for us," Rory said.

"You're welcome. Have fun, be careful," Luke replied. "And don't let your mother worry about us."

"I'll try," Rory promised.

Lorelai gave each of her guys one more kiss, and then the girls picked up their carry-on bags and walked toward an escalator to the security screening area. As they stepped on it, they both turned and waved at Luke. He waved back, and lifted Josh's hand to wave at them as well.

Luke watched them until they disappeared from sight, and then he looked down at Josh. "Well, it's just you and me now, buddy."

. . . . .

. . . . .

 **To be continued...**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

. . . . .

. . . . .

Luke drove home from the airport and got Josh out of the car. They were walking toward the front porch when Babette came rushing out of her house calling, "Luke! Luke, you're back!"

"We're back," he confirmed, stopping in front of the porch to talk to her.

"How'd it go?" she asked.

"The airport dropoff?" Luke replied. "Uh, pretty straightforward... dropped 'em off, said goodbye... you know, the usual."

"I bet you're pretty shaken up about this, huh?" Babette asked with a sympathetic frown. "A few of us were out last night and we were doing the calculations, and we figured out that you and Lorelai haven't been apart for this long since - "

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Luke interrupted her. "Who's _we_? Who all is sitting around talking about stuff like that?"

"Oh, just a few of us gals in the neighborhood," Babette replied. "And Kirk."

Luke rolled his eyes and walked up the porch steps to the front door. "Please don't analyze that kind of stuff, okay? It's creepy." He unlocked the door and pushed it open, and Babette followed him into the house, closing the door behind her.

"Okay, well, all I'm saying is, it's been a long time since you've been apart for this long," Babette said. "So if you get lonely and want some company while she's away, someone to talk to, someone to cook for - you let me know."

"Will do, Babette, thanks," Luke replied. He put the baby's carseat on the floor and started to unbuckle him.

"I'm on the schedule to watch him on Tuesday afternoon," Babette said. "But I can do another day if you need me. I told Lorelai she could put me down for as many days as she needed."

Luke lifted Josh up and walked over to the changing table. "She didn't want to burden people too much, so she was trying to keep people to just one day as much as she could. But thanks, if anything comes up and I need you, I'll let you know." He started unbuttoning the baby's outfit to change him.

"Okay, doll, I'll get out of your hair now," Babette said. "But I mean it, you call if you need anything at all." She wagged her finger at him. "Remember, asking for help doesn't mean you can't handle things on your own... we all know you have it under control, we just wanna help make things a little easier."

Luke smiled appreciatively before asking, "Lorelai tell you to remind me that?"

"She might have," Babette admitted. "But it's true, you know."

"I know. I'll let you know if I need anything."

"Okay, good. Well, have a good night... I'll come check on you boys again tomorrow."

Luke knew that she'd stop by to check in even if he told her that it wasn't necessary, so he just nodded. "Okay, we'll see you tomorrow, Babette."

"Goodnight, boys," Babette said, and then she snapped her fingers as she remembered something. "Oh, and I told Lorelai I'd leave my windows open so that if you needed help and couldn't get to a phone, you could just scream my name and I'll hear you, so don't be afraid to just holler." With those parting words, she walked out of the house through the side door.

Luke shook his head in disbelief and then looked down at Josh on the changing table. "We are surrounded by freaks, kid," Luke told him. "Harmless, loving freaks, but still... freaks."

. . . . .

. . . . .

The next afternoon, Luke was behind the counter at the diner when he saw Miss Patty walk in, and he immediately greeted her with, "I'm still doing fine, Patty."

Miss Patty smiled. "Good, but I'm actually here for a late lunch, dear, not just to check on you."

"Oh, okay," Luke said, and gestured to an empty table. "Have a seat, I'll be right with you."

As he'd expected, and probably by Lorelai's request, the whole town seemed to be keeping an eye on him. While he was at home with Josh that morning, he received a visit from Babette, and calls from Miss Patty and Sookie. He went to work at lunch time, leaving Josh home with Mrs. Cassini. Andrew and Jackson checked in on him before he even made it from the car to the diner, and all afternoon, customers had been asking if he needed anything.

Luke brought over a menu to Miss Patty. "Here you go."

"Thanks," she replied. "And just to give you fair warning, I'm actually meeting Taylor here to talk about the Spring Fling."

Luke rolled his eyes. "Oh, goody... two of my favorite things, Taylor and town festivals."

"That's why I gave you the warning, dear," Miss Patty said with a smile.

"Appreciate it," Luke replied. "Can I get you something to drink while you're waiting for him?"

"Iced tea," Miss Patty replied. "And none of that unsweetened stuff."

"You got it."

Luke walked to the kitchen to get her drink, and then delivered it to her along with an extra menu. He checked on a few tables and returned to the counter where Kirk was finishing his piece of pie.

Luke flipped to Kirk's check in his order pad. "Can I get you anything else, Kirk?"

Kirk glanced over at the display case of desserts at the other side of the counter. "Can I get two of those giant chocolate chip cookies? Lulu likes them and I want to surprise her."

Luke raised an eyebrow as he added the cookies to Kirk's check. "Lulu, really? You two are still together?"

"Yes. Why would you think otherwise?" Kirk stood up from his stool with a concerned look. "Did she say something to you? Did you see her with someone else? Who was it? Was it my brother trying to get her back?"

"Whoa, calm down," Luke told him as he placed his check on the counter. "I just haven't seen you two out together lately, that's all."

"Oh. Well, we spend a lot of time inside, if you know what I mean," Kirk said, winking at Luke.

Luke winced a little. "Please stop talking, and never wink at me again."

"Sorry."

As Luke walked over to the display case, Kirk set some money on the counter. Luke returned and handed Kirk a bag of cookies, then collected the money to put into the register.

As Kirk was leaving the diner, Jess walked in, and Luke waved him over to the counter. "Hey, I was hoping to catch you today," Luke greeted him.

Jess walked over to him. "Why? What'd I do?"

"I was thinking you could come over for dinner sometime this week," Luke said. "The girls are out of town, so Josh and I could use some company."

"Out of town?"

"Out of the country, actually," Luke said. "They left yesterday for ten days in Europe."

Jess looked surprised, but then he remembered he'd heard of the trip before. "Oh, right, they were showing me the itinerary on Christmas."

"Yeah. So, what do you say? You free tonight? I can pick us up a couple of steaks, throw 'em on the grill."

"I have work until 6:30," Jess replied. "I can come over after that."

"Okay, good. I'll see you tonight."

Jess nodded. "Okay."

. . . . .

. . . . .

That night at the house, Luke and Jess were sitting across from each other at the kitchen table, and Josh was in his high chair next to Luke. Jess watched Luke take bites of his own food in between instances of feeding the baby, wiping his face, and helping him drink from a little cup with two handles.

Jess took a sip from his can of soda. "So... do you ever get to actually eat a meal while it's hot anymore?"

Luke smiled and shrugged. "Once in awhile. But if the choice is a hot meal with a crying, hungry kid or a room temperature meal with a happy, fed kid, I'm taking the more peaceful option."

"So, it's essentially about the noise, not about actually wanting the kid happy and nourished," Jess deduced, and then he nodded his head toward Josh. "Was it hard to learn that stuff?"

"What stuff?"

"The kid stuff," Jess replied. "You know, knowing what to do to make them not cry, that kind of stuff."

Luke shrugged. "It's kind of like a guessing game since they can't tell you what they want, but you just have to go with the flow and learn things as you go."

"Go with the flow," Jess repeated with a smirk. "You even talk like a boring married dad now."

Luke smirked. "Shut it." He took a bite of his food, and then eyed Jess suspiciously for a few seconds. "Why are you asking about the kid stuff?"

"What do you mean? I was just asking a question."

"You sure you don't have something you wanna tell me?"

"Like what?" Jess replied, a defensive tone kicking in.

"Uh, I don't know, like I'm gonna be a great uncle soon."

Jess snickered. "Please."

"What? It's not that absurd. You and Jill have been together awhile."

Jess was quiet for a minute and took a long sip of his soda. As he placed his can back on the table, he said, "We're not together anymore."

Luke looked surprised. "Really? Since when?"

"Couple months ago."

"Oh. Sorry to hear."

"It happens. It's no biggie," Jess said with a shrug, and he looked down at his plate as he picked at his food.

Changing the subject, Luke asked, "How's school?"

"School's fine, work's fine, the apartment's fine," Jess replied. "Not real exciting stuff happening."

"Come on, I'm trying to have a real conversation here," Luke told him. "This isn't just us exchanging a few words as you rush through the diner and disappear upstairs. Let's talk, man to man."

"Man to man," Jess repeated. "You wanna talk man to man."

"Considering the last adult man-to-man conversation I had that lasted longer than a minute was with Kirk, yeah, I could really use another one."

Jess rolled his eyes slightly. "Okay, fine. Let's have a man to man conversation to go with our manly meal of meat and potatoes."

"Thank you. Now, really, how's school? Do you like it?"

"School's school," Jess replied. "It's just something you have to do."

"Not anymore it isn't," Luke pointed out. "College isn't something you _have_ to do, it's something you choose to do."

"Well, nowadays, you kind of _have_ to choose to do it," Jess replied. "So that's what I'm doing. I'll suck it up, I'll get through it, I'll get a piece of paper that says I sucked it up and got through it, and I'll hope it helps me in the long run."

Luke cocked his head to the side with a concerned look. "Are you taking it seriously or just half-assing it?"

"Yes, I'm taking it seriously," Jess replied. "I'm not gonna pay for something... or ask _you_ to help pay for something... that I'm not taking seriously. Just because I don't like it doesn't mean I'm not trying."

"Okay, just checking. What kind of classes do you have?"

"Mostly basic ones right now, the boring ones they make everyone take," Jess replied. "Except for this one literature class... we read books and analyze them."

"You like it?"

Jess shrugged. "Sometimes it's okay."

Luke nodded. "Good." He ate a few bites of food, and then asked, "You wanna talk about what happened with Jill?"

Jess glanced down at his plate with a sigh and was quiet for a few seconds, and then looked at Luke. "She came home from school one weekend and said she wanted to take a break, thought we should see other people for awhile. And that was that."

"A _break_ , meaning there's still a chance for - "

Jess shook his head before Luke could even finish his sentence. "Nope. If she wanted a break, there's a reason. I'm not just gonna wait around for her so we can get back together, and then two months later, she needs another break. We're done."

"Well, some relationships don't work well over long distance," Luke pointed out. "Maybe she just needed to adjust to that."

"Her school's 30 minutes away, not across the country," Jess pointed out, and then shrugged. "I don't know. She was probably surrounded by a bunch of smart guys and wanted to keep her options open, not be tied down to _me_."

"Hey, don't knock yourself because it didn't work out," Luke told him. "You're smart, you were good to her. But things change, people change... it's not anyone's fault."

Jess shrugged again. "It is what it is."

"Well, I _am_ sorry," Luke said sincerely. "She was nice... I could tell you liked her a lot."

Jess nodded a little, and then focused on his last few bites of food.

Josh started getting fussy, and Luke stood up to get him out of the high chair. "I'm gonna change him and get him ready for bed," Luke said, and nodded toward the table. "You can leave all this, I'll clean it up later."

As Luke headed to the living room, Jess ignored him and started to clean up a little. He cleared the dishes from the table and put them in the dishwasher, and then grabbed another can of soda from the fridge. As he walked to the living room, he passed a couple of boxes stacked in front of the closet.

"What are the boxes?" Jess asked.

Luke, who was changing Josh on the changing table, glanced over at Jess. "What?"

"What are the boxes in front of the closet?" Jess asked.

"Oh, we're cleaning it out," Luke replied. "We're putting a bathroom there and then building a new closet in the foyer."

"Ah... remodeling."

"Yeah. Once we're done down here, we might do some upstairs, too."

As Jess sat down in the armchair, Luke walked with Josh over to the couch. He placed him on the end cushion and sat down beside him, and put a few toys in front of him to keep him busy.

Luke held a rattle toward him. "Here you go, buddy." Josh slowly gripped his fingers around the handle and then brought it to his mouth to chew on it.

Jess took a long sip of his soda, and then said, "So... I was thinking about maybe going to see my dad."

Surprised, Luke's head turned quickly toward Jess. "What?"

"Liz called the other day and said he had tracked her down and asked about me," Jess told him.

Luke rolled his eyes. "I'm surprised he remembers your existence."

"She gave me his number, said he lives in California," Jess said. "I haven't called him yet, but if he's up for it, maybe I'll take a few days off from work and go visit him after the school semester's done."

"What?!" Luke's surprise quickly turned into angry confusion. "Why the hell would you want anything to do with him, Jess? He abandoned you, he abandoned your mom, he's given you no support whatsoever in your life." He shook his head. "I don't understand."

"Geez, chill out," Jess said, surprised by his strong reaction. "I didn't say I wanted to go get matching tattoos with the guy, I just want to see what he's like."

"But _why_?"

"Why _not_?"

"Because he treated you and your mom like crap," Luke reminded him. "He tossed you both aside like you meant nothing to him and ignored you for almost two decades. He's a loser, you don't need someone like that in your life."

"Well, maybe he's changed."

"And maybe he hasn't."

"Well, I should have a chance to figure that out for myself, huh?" Jess countered. "I mean, I'm an adult, I _can_ make my own choices about who I want in my life."

Luke realized he was getting too worked up and he took a deep breath to calm himself down. "Jess..."

"Why are you freaking out about this?" Jess asked. "You... the guy who always rambles on about how family is important... doesn't want me to _see_ my own father? Are you hearing yourself?"

Luke exhaled a heavy sigh. "I just don't want you to get hurt, okay? If you go out there, he's gonna try to make you think he's some great guy who wants to be in your life now, and then he'll inevitably end up disappointing you again because that's what Jimmy does. You don't deserve that. You're doing good right now and I don't want him to screw that up."

Jess rolled his eyes. "He's not gonna screw it up. You're overreacting. This isn't something you need to worry about."

"Well, guess what? That's my life now," Luke told him. "Like you said, I'm a boring married dad, and that's what we do - we worry about our families all the damn time, every damn second of every damn day. We can't help it."

"Look, I'm not going there thinking we're gonna be best friends, that he'll buy me a meal and it'll make up for the past 19 years," Jess said. "I'll go, I'll hang out with him, see what he's like, and that's it. It's not a big deal."

Luke let out a defeated sigh and shrugged. "Okay, fine, you're right, you're old enough to make your own decision about this. Do what you want, I'll try not to worry about it." He pointed at Jess and firmly added, "But you make sure you tell me when you're going, where you're staying, and when you'll be back. I don't care if you're an adult, I'm still responsible for you and I wanna know where you are."

"Okay, fine."

"Thank you." Josh was starting to whine, and Luke pulled him onto his lap. "What's wrong? Are you getting tired?" he asked Josh.

Jess watched him with Josh for a moment, then took another sip of his soda. Finally, he hesitantly asked, "Are you, like... mad about this?"

Luke looked over at him. "No, I'm not mad," he said calmly. "It was just a surprise, that's all. It came out of nowhere, it caught me off guard."

"You sure?"

Luke nodded. "Yeah, sorry... it's good, it's fine. You're right, he's your father, you should try to have a relationship with him if you want one. I just don't want you to have high expectations."

"I don't," Jess assured him.

There was a knock on the side door, startling them, and a voice called, "Luke, it's me!"

"Come in, Babette," Luke called.

Babette walked in the side door and was surprised to see Jess. "Oh, sorry, I didn't know you had company."

"It's okay," Luke replied.

"We're about to run to Doose's before it closes and just wanted to see if you needed anything," Babette said.

"Well, if you're buying, I'm fresh out of Frosted Flakes," Jess replied. "Oh, and Cheetos."

"Stop," Luke said as he waved him off, and then said to Babette, "He's kidding. We're good, Babette, thanks for asking."

"Okay. I'll see you boys tomorrow, then," Babette said. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Luke replied.

As Babette left through the side door, Jess commented, "Such neighborly love."

"Yeah, and it's really kicked up since the girls left," Luke said.

"They've only been gone a day," Jess remarked. "How fast could it possibly have been kicked up already?"

"You wanna know how fast? That's the 4th time I've seen Babette in the past 24 hours," Luke told him.

Jess' eyes widened. "Geez."

"Yeah. It's gonna be a long ten days."

. . . . .

. . . . .

Two days later, on Wednesday afternoon, Luke left the diner after work and walked over to Gypsy's garage. He'd dropped off Lorelai's Jeep the day before for an oil change and a tune-up, figuring it would be good to get it done while she was away.

"Hey, Gypsy," Luke greeted her. "All set?"

"Yup, all done," she replied. She wiped her hands on a rag and led him over to the cash register inside the garage office. She gave him the bill and he gave her his credit card. As she ran the card, she said, "You know, I ran into Eastside Tillie at Al's this afternoon, and she said you have half the town pitching in to watch the baby while Lorelai's away."

"Not half the town, just a handful of people."

"What a surprise, nobody thought to ask Gypsy," she muttered with a touch of bitterness.

"Well, you have a full time job," Luke pointed out. "And we needed help during the day."

Gypsy thought for a moment. "Oh, right."

"Seems like you might be pretty busy during the day," Luke added, gesturing to the garage

"So, it's not because you don't trust me with your kid?"

"Please... if we trust you with our cars, we'd trust you with our kid," Luke told her. "We just figured you wouldn't have time."

"Okay. Well, just so you know, I love babies," Gypsy told him. "So, you can add me to the list next time, I'll make it work."

"Well, I'll keep that in mind," Luke told her. "Thanks for the offer."

"So, where are the girls now?" Gypsy asked.

"They've been in Ireland for a few days, and were heading to London today," Luke replied. "I talked to Lorelai this morning, they're having a great time."

"Good, good," Gypsy said. She handed him his credit card and the receipt to sign. He signed it and handed her copy back to her, and she gave him the keys. "Here you go."

"Thanks, Gypsy," Luke replied, and he started to walk away, but then turned back to her. "You know, I took tomorrow off, and I'm gonna be home all day with Josh just doing things around the house. If you have some free time, you can stop by for a visit. We have Rolos."

Gypsy smiled. "I might do that."

Luke smiled and nodded. "See ya, Gypsy."

Luke drove the Jeep home and relieved Miss Patty from babysitting. Josh was napping in his crib, so Luke went to the kitchen to eat a quick dinner before he woke up.

He had finished eating and was starting to straighten up the living room when the house phone rang. He walked over to the desk and answered, "Hello?"

"Luke, we got a problem," Caesar greeted him.

"Just what I love to hear," Luke replied. "What's wrong?"

"There's a leak in the bathroom, water all over the floor," Caesar replied. "I think it's from the sink. I turned off the main water valve for the bathroom and I called the plumber, but he can't get out here until tomorrow afternoon at the earliest."

"What about Tom?"

"I called him, but there was no answer, it just kept ringing," Caesar replied. "You know anyone else I can call? Maybe a plumber in Woodbury or Hartford?"

Luke rubbed his forehead. "Nah, I'll come take a look at it, it might be an easy fix. Have someone start mopping up the water, okay?"

"Will do."

Luke hung up the phone, and then went to the kitchen to make a bottle. He put it in the diaper bag and then headed upstairs to the nursery. He looked at Josh sleeping in the crib. "Sorry to do this to you, kid."

As he lifted him out of the crib, Josh whimpered a little, and Luke rocked him in his arms to calm him down. "You're okay, you're fine," Luke said soothingly. "Let's get you changed."

Luke quickly changed his diaper and took him downstairs. He put Josh and the diaper bag in the car, then grabbed his toolbox from the garage and drove to the diner.

Josh started crying halfway there, and Luke tried to calm him down from the front seat. "I know you're hungry, buddy... we'll eat when we get there. Just another minute, hang on."

He parked in front of the diner, quickly retrieved Josh from the backseat, and immediately started feeding him his bottle. He walked into the diner with Josh in his arms and saw Caesar at a table taking a customer's order.

"Caesar, where's Lane?" Luke asked.

"She's back there mopping," Caesar replied, nodding toward the back of the diner.

Luke walked with Josh to the bathroom and found Lane cleaning up. "Hey, Lane."

"Luke, hey," she replied. "I'm just about done."

"Thanks, I can take it from here," Luke said. "Can you come out and finish feeding him while I check out the sink?"

"Sure thing," Lane replied.

They walked back out to the front of the diner, and Lane washed her hands in the kitchen before taking the baby from Luke. She sat down at an empty table to feed him, and Luke went out to get his toolbox and Josh's diaper bag from the car.

He left the diaper bag with Lane, and then examined the situation in the bathroom. Once he'd determined the issue, he went to the hardware store to buy a part. As he was walking back to the diner, he glanced in through the front window and saw Kirk delivering plates to customers.

Luke walked into the diner and went over to Kirk. "Kirk, why are you serving people?" he asked calmly, not wanting to make a scene in front of the customers.

"Caesar needed a hand," Kirk replied. "And Lane asked me if I could help."

Luke glanced over at Lane at the front table where she was taking care of Josh. "Lane? You gave Kirk permission to serve?"

"Well, it was either give him the baby or let him serve plates," Lane explained. "I figured if he was gonna drop something, you'd prefer it be the plates."

Luke was quiet for a few seconds, and then nodded approvingly. "Good call." He walked over to Lane and Josh, and Kirk followed him.

"Luke, did Lorelai happen to mention anything about what happens if you break both of your hands?" Kirk asked him.

Luke narrowed his eyes. "What?"

"She told me that if you break both of your hands and you need help with the baby, she _might_ let me help," Kirk told him proudly. "So, just so you know, I'll be ready if that happens."

Luke stared at him for a moment, dumbfounded, and then finally replied, "Okay, good to know... thanks, Kirk."

"You're welcome," Kirk replied, giving him a salute before walking away to check on customers.

Luke turned to Lane. "It's gonna be another half hour or so. You okay with him?"

"Yup," Lane replied. "We're good here."

"Come get me if he starts crying," Luke said, and then he lowered his voice to add, "And obviously, let's try to limit the Kirk interaction."

"With the customers or with the baby?" Lane asked.

"Both."

"Got it."

Luke headed back to the bathroom and worked on the sink for a little while before realizing he needed to go back to the hardware store for another part. He walked back out to the front of the diner, and saw that Sookie was now keeping Josh occupied at the table.

"Oh, hey, Sookie," Luke greeted her as he approached the table.

"Hey, Luke," Sookie replied. "I was heading over to get ice cream next door and I saw Lane in here with the baby." She nodded over toward Lane who was now clearing tables. "She filled me in on the bathroom situation."

Luke sighed. "Yeah. The sink's acting up. I have to run back to the hardware store real quick before it closes." He checked his watch. "Oh, shoot, which is in ten minutes."

"Go, go," Sookie said, waving him toward the door. "Listen, why don't I take Josh to my house for a little while? He'll have more fun hanging out there with Davey than sitting here on a table."

"No, that's okay," Luke replied. "I don't wanna bother you."

"It's not a bother," Sookie said, and she stood up with the baby. "I'm taking him. You just come pick him up when you're done, okay?" She picked up his diaper bag and started walking to the door, then turned back to Luke. "Actually, I need you to say okay, otherwise it feels like kidnapping."

Luke hesitated for a moment, but knew Sookie wouldn't take no for an answer. "Okay," he reluctantly agreed. "Thanks."

. . . . .

. . . . .

Forty-five minutes later, Luke arrived at Sookie and Jackson's to pick up the baby, and Sookie led him to the living room. Jackson was changing Davey on the couch, and Josh was on a blanket on the floor surrounded by some of his toys from his diaper bag.

"How's he doing?" Luke asked.

"He's perfect," Sookie replied. "The boys had fun hanging out together."

"Well, thanks for taking him," Luke said. "I should get him home."

Sookie pointed to an armchair. "Sit down for a minute. You need to take a breath and relax."

"I'm fine," Luke said.

"Sit," Sookie insisted, still pointing.

Luke smirked as he sat down in the chair. "Wow, she's got a bossy side, huh?" he said to Jackson.

"That she does, my friend," Jackson confirmed as he pulled Davey onto his lap.

Sookie sat on the couch next to Jackson. "Everything good at the diner?" she asked Luke.

"Yup, all fixed, plumbing crisis averted," Luke confirmed.

"Good. And at home?" Sookie asked. "How's the week going so far? Everything going smoothly with the babysitters?"

"So far, so good. Lorelai put together a good schedule, everything's going fine," Luke replied.

"Okay, good. But remember, if something like tonight happens again, if you need to go take care of an issue, call us," Sookie told him. "Or call _someone_. There are plenty of people who will come over and watch him... you don't need to try to juggle it all."

"Yeah, well, I hate bothering people," Luke said with a shrug.

"Please, it's not a bother, people love watching him," Sookie said. "They look forward to it."

"Yeah, I heard Gypsy's begging to watch the kid," Jackson said.

Luke narrowed his eyes. "How do you know that?"

"She's been telling people she's bummed about not being asked to be on the schedule," Jackson said.

Luke sighed. "I explained to her it's because she works all day and we didn't think she'd have time," he said, and then he groaned. "She's gonna hate us for life, isn't she? She's gonna hold a grudge and take it out on our cars. Am I gonna have to find a new mechanic?"

"No, just ask her to babysit sometime," Sookie suggested. "Even if she says she can't do it, she'll like being asked."

"Okay," Luke agreed, and then he nodded toward Josh. "He's getting tired. Am I allowed to take him home yet?"

Sookie smiled. "Yes, you can take him home. I just wanted to make sure you know people are around to help out."

"Got it, thank you," Luke said. "I'll try to ask for help if I need it."

"No, you won't," Sookie replied with a smile. "But thanks for pretending."

"You're welcome." Luke stood up and started gathering Josh's things and throwing them into the diaper bag.

He threw the bag over his shoulder and picked up Josh, and Sookie walked them to the door. Luke thanked them again and stepped out onto the porch, and then turned back to Sookie with a small smile. "You weren't really _coincidentally_ out for ice cream earlier, were you?"

Sookie wrinkled her nose. "How'd you know?"

Luke shrugged. "Wild guess. What happened?"

"Patty saw you go into the diner with the baby, and then bring in your toolbox, and then run to the hardware store. She figured something was going on, so she called the store to get the scoop and found out about the bathroom issue. She was about to teach a class and couldn't leave, so she called me to see if I could check in on things."

Luke smirked. "Yup, that sounds like the Stars Hollow gossip tree I know," he said, and then gave her an appreciative nod. "Thanks."

"You're welcome."

. . . . .

. . . . .

A few days later, on Monday evening, Luke arrived home from work and saw Josh sleeping on a blanket on the living room floor. He walked into the kitchen and saw Maisie pulling a casserole dish from the oven.

"I thought I smelled something good," Luke said. "What are you doing?"

"I made lasagna because I figured you could use a home cooked meal," Maisie said, and she gestured to the two place settings at the table. "And some dinner company, if you don't mind."

Luke smiled. "I'd love some."

"Good. Make yourself useful and grab the salad from the fridge."

Luke did as he was told, and as he set the bowl on the table, he said, "I know the fridge wasn't stocked enough for this meal. Did you go shopping?"

"I had Buddy run some things over," Maisie replied.

"Well, thank you, and make sure you thank him for me," Luke told her. He nodded toward the living room. "How long's he been sleeping?"

"About twenty minutes," Maisie replied. "So we might actually have enough time to eat before he wakes up."

They sat down at the table, made their plates, and started eating.

"Really good," Luke said in between bites of lasagna.

"Slow down, it's not a race," Maisie scolded him. "But thank you." They ate for a few moments in silence, and then she nodded toward him. "So, tell me about the week in the life of a temporarily single dad."

Luke exhaled a heavy sigh and wiped his mouth with his napkin. He reached for his beer and took a long sip, and then replied, "Well, it's a lot harder than I thought it would be... I'm completely exhausted."

Maisie smiled. "Yeah, it looks like it."

"Thanks a lot," Luke said with a smile, and then he shook his head in disbelief. "It's just been really draining. When you're the only parent around, you're focused on your kid _all_ the time - when you're _with_ him, and when you're _not_ with him because you're worrying that he's okay. Baby stuff is going through your head _all day long_. It makes a huge difference having someone else here to share the responsibility, to carry half the load."

"Yes, it does," Maisie agreed. "Mentally and physically."

"Yeah. I mean, I've had a lot of help, don't get me wrong," Luke said. "Everyone's been pitching in to watch him and checking in on us all the time, and it's been great, I appreciate it..."

"But it's not the same as having her here," Maisie finished his thought. "You miss your better half."

Luke smiled. "Yeah, I do... a lot. And not just because I could use an extra set of hands with him."

Maisie smiled. "I know."

"But there were a few times where I did miss her for that reason," Luke continued. "Like when I had to run to the diner to fix the broken sink. Or when I had Tom on the phone to talk about our bathroom remodel and Josh was screaming in the background. Or yesterday, when I got a phone call at five in the morning because I'd forgotten to arrange for someone to go in early for the bread delivery."

"Oops," Maisie said, frowning sympathetically.

"Yeah, remind me to put a spare key back out there again," Luke said. "But I had to decide whether to wake Josh up and drag the poor kid to the diner just to unlock the door for the bread guy, or completely piss off Jess by calling him and begging him to run downstairs to open the door."

"Which did you choose?"

"I called Jess," he replied. "And I felt terrible having to do that. If Lorelai was here, I just would've ran over and took care of it myself and not given it a second thought." He quickly added, "Not that I'm blaming her for not being here, but you know what I mean. It's just hard when your options are limited. Easy things get a little more complicated."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Maisie said.

Luke took a few more bites of food, and then put his fork down. "I've been thinking a lot this week about how this is what she did with Rory. She didn't have anyone picking up the slack, sharing the load... she did _everything_ on her own for Rory's entire life. I've been doing it alone for a week and I'm exhausted. Hell, I'm not even doing it alone, I've got half the town pitching in." He shook his head in disbelief. "I don't know how she did it."

Maisie smiled at him for a moment before she said, "She's pretty strong, that one."

"The strongest I've ever met," he agreed. "She's amazing... she can do anything."

"You make sure you tell her things like that," Maisie told him. "Don't just say it _about_ her, say it _to_ her. Women like compliments. A wife wants to know her husband admires her, _all_ of her - her mind, her heart, her personality... not just her pretty face and nice figure." She leaned closer and added, "But obviously, you should compliment those, too."

Luke smiled. Maisie always liked to share little tidbits of wisdom with him, reminders about how to keep a marriage happy. Luke imagined his mother would be doing the same thing to him if she was still around.

"I know, I compliment her," he assured her. "And not just how she looks."

"You sure? Because I know you, Lucas, and you don't always say what's on your mind. I can see you holding things back that you shouldn't hold back. Life is short, you make sure you say what you need to say."

"Trust me, I may not be as talkative as she is, but she knows she's everything to me," Luke told her. "I make sure of that."

"Good," Maisie said, and then wagged a finger at him. "Don't be one of those men who takes his wife for granted."

"She will never be taken for granted," Luke stated firmly, and then he joked, "Plus, she wouldn't let me anyway."

Maisie smiled and nodded. "You're right about that."

"You know, she's a little like you sometimes," Luke commented.

"Yeah, I think you like being around strong, stubborn spitfires who don't put up with crap," Maisie said, giving him a wink.

"I think you're right," he confirmed.

"And you're gonna go through this a few more times, right?" Maisie asked him. "Staying home with the little one while the girls do some exploring?"

"Yeah, there will probably be at least a couple more trips," he replied. "And I'm sure it'll get tougher as Josh gets older and I'll be even more exhausted, but it's something that needs to be done, you know? She and Rory had this dream their whole lives, before me, before Josh - there was this plan for them to travel together. I'm not taking that away from them... I'm gonna do what I can to help them fulfill it."

Maisie smiled at him and reached over to pat Luke's hand. "You know, your parents would be damn proud of the man you've become and the life you've made for yourself. Your wife, your family, that diner... they're looking down at all of it, at everything you do, and they're proud. You know that, right?"

Luke smiled. "Yeah, I know," he said as he squeezed her hand. "Thanks."

. . . . .

. . . . .

On Thursday morning, like most other mornings, the sounds of Josh crying on the baby monitor woke Luke up. As he started to groggily climb out of bed, he suddenly remembered that the long-awaited day had finally arrived... Lorelai and Rory were coming home.

Luke had spoken to Lorelai a few times on the phone during the trip and had gotten little snippets about their adventures, but he couldn't wait to hear more details about all the things they'd seen. And after ten long days, he was very excited to have his wife back home. He was looking forward to getting back into their daily routine, to hugging and kissing her, to bantering with her while she flashed her beautiful smile at him, to falling asleep next to her and waking up with her in the morning.

Luke was smiling when he went into the nursery to get Josh from his crib. "Good morning, Josh-meister," he said softly as he lifted him up. "Your mom's coming home today. Are you excited to see her and your sister?" He kissed Josh's head and cradled him to his chest to calm down his crying, and then lay him on the changing table to get him ready for the day.

Luke had taken the day off from the diner, and would be picking up the girls from the airport in the early evening. Luke spent some time straightening up the house while Josh took his morning nap, and when he woke up, they ate an early lunch and then went out to run some errands. They stopped at Doose's to stock up on some essentials, and then Weston's to pick up some treats for the girls.

When they got back to the house after running errands, Luke unloaded the groceries and treats in the kitchen, and then went to the living room with Josh. He noticed the message light was blinking on the answering machine, and he hit play, expecting that he'd missed a call from one of the neighbors checking up on them.

Instead, much to his surprise, it was Emily's voice he heard on the machine. She was calling to inform them that Richard's mother had suffered a serious heart attack and was currently in surgery at Hartford Hospital.

Luke was caught off guard by the message, and he swallowed hard as he replayed it to make sure he'd heard everything correctly. He didn't know what to do, how to react. Lorelai and Rory were already in flight, so he couldn't even call and tell them about it.

He glanced down at Josh playing on the floor. "What would your mom do? She would just get to the hospital as fast as she could, right?" Luke exhaled a heavy sigh and thought it over before answering himself, "Yeah, she would. We have to go."

Luke threw some of Josh's things into the diaper bag, and then went to the kitchen to pack some bottles. As they were about to leave, his eyes fell on a notebook sitting on the desk. The notebook in which Lorelai had drafted an apology letter to her grandmother after their fight at the last Friday night dinner. She wanted to write it out nicer before mailing it, but hadn't had a chance to do it before she left for Europe... she said she'd do it when she got back.

Luke tossed the notebook into the diaper bag and headed to the hospital.

. . . . .

. . . . .

A few hours later, Luke was standing at the airport looking for Lorelai and Rory's faces in the sea of people walking toward him. When he finally saw them in the crowd, a feeling of relief rushed through him. They were home, they were safe, they looked happy.

"I see them, buddy," Luke said to Josh sitting in the stroller beside him. "They're home."

He saw them before they saw him, and was just waiting anxiously for one of them to catch his eye. When Lorelai finally saw him, her face lit up, she grabbed Rory's arm, and they started walking faster.

When they reached him, Lorelai dropped her bags and wrapped her arms around Luke's neck. "Oh, my God, I missed my boys so much!"

"We missed you, too," Luke replied as he hugged her tightly, glad to have her back in his arms. They embraced for a few moments before Lorelai kissed him and then leaned down to talk to Josh.

Luke hugged Rory. "Welcome back," he said. "How was the flight?"

"It was a little bumpy at the end," Rory said. "Not too bad, but just enough to keep waking us up from our naps."

Lorelai had unbuckled Josh, and she lifted him from the stroller. "Mommy missed you so much, baby," she cooed as she hugged him tightly and kissed his face. "It looks like Daddy took good care of you."

"He did his best," Luke replied.

Lorelai smiled at Luke and leaned in to give him another kiss. "Thank you."

"For taking care of our kid? I think it's part of my job."

"No, for everything... for planning the trip, for understanding how important it was to us, for not caring that it left you with a whole lot of responsibility, for not complaining about all the slack you were gonna have to pick up while I was gone," Lorelai replied, and then she smiled. "I can keep going if you want."

Luke smiled and shook his head. "Not necessary... but you're welcome." He nodded his head toward the exit to the parking lot. "Let's head out."

Lorelai put Josh back in the stroller, Luke grabbed the bags, and they walked out to the parking lot. They loaded up the car, settled into their seats, and Luke started the engine.

He picked up two cups from the front cup holders and passed one to each of them. "Coffee that is potentially lukewarm by now," he said, and then pulled out a paper bag from the center console. "And donuts."

Lorelai smiled. "You sure know how to welcome a couple of gals home... thank you."

"Yeah, thanks, Luke," Rory echoed before drinking some coffee. Lorelai took out a donut and passed the bag back to Rory.

Luke nervously exhaled a heavy sigh. "So, unfortunately, that's where the good part of the welcoming home ends."

Lorelai's eyes widened. "What do you mean? What happened?" She put her coffee cup back into the cup holder, and then set her donut on top of it. "I feel like something serious is coming." She took a deep breath. "Go ahead, tell us. Did the house burn down?"

Luke turned in his seat so he could look at both of them. "I got a call from your mother today saying that your grandmother had suffered a heart attack and was in surgery."

Lorelai gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. "Oh, my God."

"I went to the hospital with Josh," Luke continued. "As I was driving there, I started second guessing whether I should've brought him with me, but then I figured between the two of us, she'd probably rather see him than me. By the time I got there, she had woken up, she was stable. I was able to talk to her briefly, she was happy to see Josh."

"So, she's okay?" Lorelai asked, looking relieved.

He took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly. "We only stayed at the hospital for a little while because I didn't want us to be in the way. We went home, and then about an hour later, your mother called. There was some sort of emergency complication or something and your grandmother needed a second surgery." He paused for a moment and swallowed hard before he finished with, "She didn't make it out of that one."

Rory gasped from the backseat. "Gran died?"

"Yeah. I'm really sorry," Luke said softly.

Lorelai's eyes were wide and her mouth had dropped open. She was frozen in that reaction for a few moments before she slowly turned her head to look out the windshield.

Luke reached over and squeezed her hand. "Are you okay?"

Lorelai shook her head as tears formed in her eyes. "We were in a fight," she whispered. "She died thinking I was mad at her... and she was probably still mad at me."

"That's not true," Luke said softly.

Lorelai turned to look at him. "How do you know? Did she say something?"

He reached his arm around his seat to the diaper bag behind it, and pulled out her notebook. He held it out toward her and she looked down at it with confusion.

"I brought this to the hospital and I read your apology note to her," he told her.

Lorelai's eyes widened. "You... you read it to her? And she listened? She heard it?"

Luke nodded. "Every word. She knew how you felt, that you were sorry, that we're grateful for the money." He urged her to take the notebook. "Open it up to your note."

As Lorelai took it from him and opened it up, Luke turned on the overhead light. She flipped through a few pages until she got to her note and saw something scribbled at the bottom. She looked at him. "What is that?"

"She insisted that the appropriate way to respond to a letter is to write one back right away," Luke said. "It's a little sloppy... she was really weak, she could barely hold the pen... but she instructed me to tell you what it says." He pointed to the phrases as he told her, "I forgive you. I love you. I'm proud of you."

Lorelai inhaled a deep breath, and as she exhaled, tears rolled down her cheeks. "Oh, my God."

Luke took a second to think about the last few moments he had shared with Gran. "She was different than she usually was... more relaxed, not as stern and stoic. I'm sure the effects of the anesthesia had something to do with it, but she was being relatively nice. I mean, as I took the notebook back from her, she patted my hand and called me a good man," Luke said, and he shook his head slightly with surprise. "Which, I'm not gonna lie, threw me for a loop."

Lorelai smiled as she wiped away some tears. "That's high praise from her."

Luke turned to look back at Rory. "And when she was talking to Josh, she said she can tell he's gonna grow up to be smart like his sister... she called you a fine young lady."

"That's sweet," Rory said, frowning as she sighed softly. "I didn't really get to know her as much as I should have. I should have visited her more. Grandpa would've liked that." She suddenly gasped. "Oh, no - Grandpa! How's Grandpa?"

"Yeah, how's my dad?" Lorelai asked worriedly. "He's probably beside himself. He adored Trix."

"Yeah, Emily said he's taking it pretty rough," Luke admitted. "And I know you're probably in a rush to get home, but I was thinking it might be good to stop by and see them on the way home."

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, definitely, we should go over there."

. . . . .

. . . . .

They drove from the airport to Richard and Emily's house. Richard was in his study, too upset for visitors, so they sat and talked with Emily in the living room. As Emily started listing all the tasks she needed to take care of for the funeral, Rory offered to return the following day to help out.

As they headed back to Stars Hollow later that evening, Josh fell asleep in the car. Luke carried his carseat into the house and set it down in the living room, and then helped bring in the girls' luggage.

Luke showed them the treats he'd gotten from the bakery. The girls decided to change into more comfortable clothes and then meet back in the living room to eat snacks and fill Luke in on their trip.

The girls went to their respective bedrooms to change, and after a few minutes, Luke went upstairs to see Lorelai. She had changed into pajamas, and was sitting in front of the vanity mirror. Luke watched quietly from the doorway as she pulled her hair into a ponytail and then stared aimlessly into the mirror for a moment, like she was drifting off into a daze.

Luke finally stepped into the room. "Hi," he said softly, not wanting to startle her.

Lorelai turned around to look at him. "Hey."

"You okay?"

Lorelai stood up from the chair and walked toward him. "Tired, and sad. I feel really bad for my dad."

"Yeah. Me, too." Luke opened his arms and she walked into them, sighing contently as they wrapped around her.

Lorelai rested her head against his shoulder. "I was just thinking about how today must've been such an emotional day for him. He was probably worried all morning after the heart attack, and then the first surgery went well so he probably relaxed a little and felt relieved, and then the fates were like, 'nope, just kidding, there's more' and then all hell broke loose."

"Yeah, that had to be rough for him," Luke said. "It's really hard to lose a parent."

Lorelai lifted her head to look up at him, frowning slightly. "Oh, yeah, you've been there... twice."

Luke nodded. "Yeah. It's definitely not easy, especially when it's so unexpected like this."

Lorelai exhaled a deep breath. "Wow, we've turned this into quite a depressing evening."

Luke smiled. "Yeah, really. Let's put a moratorium on the sad talk for the rest of the night," he suggested. "Tonight, let's just focus on your trip and all the good stuff."

Lorelai smiled and nodded in agreement. "Okay." She lay her head back against him as she hugged him tightly. "I missed you."

Luke kissed the top of her head. "I missed you, too. You have no idea."

Lorelai inhaled deeply against the collar of his shirt. "I missed your scent... manly cologne with a touch a burger and a splash of coffee."

Luke smirked. "Not as much as you missed Josh's baby smell, I'm sure. You always say you wanna bottle that up."

Lorelai smiled up at him. "I missed them both equally." She sat down on the bed and patted the mattress next to her. "Sit. Before we go downstairs and get to the trip stuff, tell me about your week and a half. How was it? How was Josh?"

"Things were good," he said as he sat down next to her. "Josh was great, and your schedule of babysitters kept things nice and organized. Everyone showed up, they were all a huge help... although a few did border on the line of harassment."

Lorelai smiled. "As expected." She nodded toward him. "And what about _you_?" She wrinkled her nose as she asked, "Was it overwhelming and awful and stressful being in full-on parent mode for ten days straight?"

Luke shrugged. "Hey, I signed up for a lifetime of full-on parent mode the minute we decided to have a kid."

Lorelai's smile widened and she shook her head confusedly. "Okay, seriously, you just spent ten days with a kid on your own and you're still calm and composed and all 'whatever, man'. You should be exhausted and resentful and snapping at me like I'm the devil. What is wrong with you?"

Luke smirked. "I don't know. I _am_ exhausted, but I'm just focusing on the fact that you're home, so things don't feel quite as hectic anymore."

Lorelai gritted her teeth. "So it was hectic?"

"Yeah, a little, but not in a bad way," Luke replied. "It was harder than I expected. Nothing I couldn't handle, just busy."

Lorelai frowned apologetically. "I'm sorry."

"No, don't apologize," he said, shaking his head. "It was good... it gave me a chance to appreciate yet another example of how amazing my wife is."

Lorelai's smile was one of both surprise and confusion. "Really? How?"

"Well, I got to see firsthand how raising a kid is a hell of a lot to handle for one person," Luke replied. "Mentally, physically... it's _draining_. I mean, I never imagined it was a cake walk or anything, but I couldn't really fathom what it was like. But after ten days, I got a little taste of how hard it could be. Hell, I got it after _two_ days." He reached over and squeezed her hand as he added, "So, how you did it for so many years without completely losing your mind, I'll never know."

Lorelai smiled. "Coffee... that's the secret."

Luke smiled and leaned in to kiss her. "Seriously, you're incredible for doing that for so long on your own," he said sincerely. "For turning that girl into an amazing young woman _on your own_."

Lorelai's face softened into a humble, appreciative smile. "Thank you."

"I mean it. You're incredible."

Lorelai stood up and moved to stand in front of him where he sat on the edge of the bed. She stood between his legs and draped her arms over his shoulders. "You're exceedingly complimentary tonight. Absence really does make the heart grow fonder, huh?"

"Yes, it does." They shared a kiss as he wrapped his arms around her waist. "I'm glad you're home."

Lorelai smiled. "Me, too." She ran her hands over his scruffy cheeks. "You promise it wasn't an awful ten days for you? Really, you can tell me if you hated every second of it and you never want to do it again."

Luke shook his head. "I didn't hate it, not even a little... it was just busy, that's all. Now I know what to expect for next time." he told her. "But you're in charge of planning the other trips yourself. That way you guys can make sure you hit all the places you want to hit."

Lorelai shook her head in disbelief. Here he was, fresh off an exhausting ten days on his own with Josh, without any reluctance about going through it again. It was never lost on her how lucky she was to have him.

She smiled at him adoringly and leaned in to kiss him. "Thank you," she whispered against his lips.

"You're welcome."

. . . . .

. . . . .

 **To be continued...**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

. . . . .

. . . . .

That night in the living room, as Josh slept in his carseat beside the couch, the girls told Luke about their trip. They shared stories from their time on the other side of the ocean and showed him pictures on the digital camera.

They were going through the souvenirs they'd brought back when Josh finally woke up. Lorelai retrieved him from the carseat, changed him, and they played with him for a few minutes before he started getting fussy.

They brought him to the kitchen to feed him, and Rory went upstairs to take a bath. As Josh sat in his high chair picking at the array of food on his tray, Luke and Lorelai chatted at the kitchen table.

"So, what else did we miss around here?" Lorelai asked. "Any good town gossip?"

Luke shrugged. "Not really." He reached over and ran his hand over Josh's head. "I think the main gossip of the week was _us_... the Danes' boys trying to make it on their own."

Lorelai smiled. "And they did."

"We did," Luke confirmed, and then he thought for a moment. "Oh, I learned a couple of interesting things when Jess came over."

Lorelai gave him an intrigued look. "Do tell."

"Well, first of all, he said Jill broke up with him a few months ago."

Lorelai frowned. "Oh, bummer. Is he okay?"

"Seems to be now, but I think it probably stung a lot when it first happened. He really liked her."

"I had a feeling something was going on there... he quickly changed the subject the last few times I asked about her."

"Yeah, we probably shouldn't mention her anymore... no need to open up old wounds."

Lorelai nodded understandingly, and then asked, "What else?"

Luke exhaled a soft sigh. "Well, get this... apparently his dad got in touch with Liz and asked her to give Jess his number, and now Jess is talking about going to visit him in California this summer."

Lorelai's eyes widened. "Whoa. That's... I'm..." She shook her head slightly. "I can say with full confidence that if you asked me to make a list of 500 things that I think might have happened while we were away, the return of Jess' long lost father wouldn't have the slightest possibility of making the list. That's how obscure a topic that is."

"I know, it's insane," Luke said, shaking his head. "I couldn't believe it."

"It's good, though," Lorelai said. "I mean, if Jess wants to go visit him, he must be happy about it, so that's good." She paused a moment and eyed her husband, who didn't look as enthused. "But based on your face, maybe it's not good," she said as she narrowed her eyes confusedly. "Uh, help me out, is this good or not good?"

"It's not good," Luke said, shaking his head. "Jimmy is a terrible person... I told you what he did, right?"

"Yeah, you said he up and left when Jess was a baby," Lorelai said.

"Before he even came home from the hospital!" Luke exclaimed, raising his clenched fists up into the air with anger. "He just disappeared right after he was born and never looked back! What kind of person does that?"

Lorelai's eyes widened at Luke's tone and body language. "Wow."

Luke lowered his arms and his voice. "Sorry. I've been thinking about it all week and it just bugs me a lot."

"Okay, well, let's talk it out," Lorelai calmly said. "Preferably without the violent hand motions."

Luke smirked. "Okay, sorry."

"I know it was a crappy thing that he did, but the fact that he's reaching out now must mean he's changed, right?" Lorelai asked.

"Changed or not, if it takes someone 19 years to reach out to the kid he abandoned, there's something wrong with him," Luke said.

"It's not the behavior of a perfect father, no," she agreed. "But... and I hate to be Miss Cliché right now... better 19 years later than never, right? Some people take longer to change than others. I mean, Jess could've gone his whole life not knowing his dad, and now he has a chance."

"He's not worth knowing, trust me," Luke told her. "And I don't understand why Jess is okay with this, why he's not more pissed off."

"Why are you _so_ pissed off?" Lorelai asked. "I mean, I get being surprised or confused or whatever, but you seem really intensely affected by this."

"Well, why shouldn't I be?" Luke countered. "I'm the one taking care of Jess, trying to be a good influence on him, trying to get him on track, and now this guy's gonna swoop in and screw him up after I've spent years trying to turn his life around."

"You're not _trying_ to turn his life around, you _have_ turned his life around," Lorelai corrected him. "You guided him, you gave him independence, and he matured into a more responsible version of himself that I bet a lot of people didn't think he had in him." She paused before adding, "That _I_ didn't really think he had in him."

"No, you didn't," Luke agreed. "But I understood why. You guys didn't start off on the greatest foot."

"I was wrong," she admitted. "But you believed in him and you were right." Lorelai looked at Luke silently for a moment before she added, "You're not gonna lose him, if that's what you're worried about. You guys have a bond, he's not gonna forget about you because he suddenly has a chance to know his dad."

Luke shrugged. "It's not that, I just don't want him to get hurt... I don't want him to get attached to his dad and then Jimmy ends up disappointing him. And I told him that, too... I told Jess that's what I'm worried about."

"And what'd he say?"

"That he doesn't have high expectations, he just wants to meet him and see what he's like."

"See, there you go," Lorelai said. "He's going into it with a good head, I really wouldn't over think it too much."

"Yeah, that's what he said, too," Luke said.

"It'll be fine," Lorelai told him, and patted his hand. "He's smart, he's an adult, he can handle it."

Luke smiled at her. "I missed having you around to calm me down." She smiled and leaned across the table to kiss him. "I missed _this_ , too," he murmured before kissing her again.

"Mmm," she hummed in agreement. "Me, too."

When they separated, Lorelai watched Josh for a few moments. "Well, the good news is, the kid seems to remember me, and doesn't seem to be harboring any grudges."

"Unless he's really good at hiding them."

"Which is a skill he definitely could've inherited from me," Lorelai replied, and then she leaned in close to the baby's face. "You're not mad at Mommy for leaving you, right, Josh-kosh B-gosh?"

Josh brought his hand toward her face, and started giggling as Lorelai playfully pretended to eat his fingers. Lorelai grinned. "Nah, he's not mad."

When he was finished with his food, they cleaned him up and brought him to the living room. Lorelai sat down with him on the floor with some toys, and Luke sat on the couch.

"He's still been doing that thing where he gets up on all fours and rocks back and forth like he's about to crawl, but hasn't taken off yet," Luke told her. "Shouldn't he have started by now?"

Lorelai shrugged. "All babies are different. He'll get it soon and then we'll be begging for him to go back to being lazy," she said. "We're gonna have to baby proof the hell out of everything."

Luke glanced around the room. "We've already got the sockets covered. What else?"

"Well, we need a baby gate to block those off," Lorelai said, nodding toward the stairs. "Maybe another to keep him out of the kitchen. And we should probably get some more throw rugs because the hardwood is going to be rough on his knees. Plus, we can't leave small things on the floor or on any tables that he can reach. He's gonna be able to spot a dime across the room and crawl to it like a bat out of hell hoping to get to it before we see it, and if he gets it first, we'll have to pry it out of his insane baby grip before he puts it in his mouth and chokes."

Luke's eyes were wide. "Geez." He glanced at Josh. "Don't rush into that crawling thing, kid... take your time."

"Be prepared for him to become quite the handful," Lorelai warned.

"Another skill he inherited from you?" Luke joked.

"Ha ha," Lorelai dryly remarked, but smirked as she nodded in agreement. "But yes, probably."

. . . . .

. . . . .

The next day, Rory went over to help Richard and Emily get ready for Trix's funeral. Emily had decided to cancel their usual Friday night dinner, but Rory stayed to eat an early dinner with her.

When she got back to Stars Hollow that night, the first floor of the house was empty. "Mom? Luke?" Rory called.

"Up in the bathroom," Lorelai called back.

Rory went upstairs to the bathroom, and the door was open. Lorelai was kneeling beside the bathtub and Josh was sitting in it, secured in a little plastic seat that was suctioned to the bottom of the tub.

Lorelai smiled as Rory walked in. "Look who's here, Josh... show Rory your ducky."

Josh obliviously continued chewing on the rubber ducky.

Lorelai looked up at Rory. "He'll show you later." Rory smiled and sat down on the floor next to Lorelai, and Lorelai patted her knee. "How was your day? How's Grandpa?"

"Better than yesterday, but still out of it," Rory replied. "He didn't even come out of his study to eat dinner with us."

Lorelai frowned. "That's sad."

"Grandma and I started arranging things for the funeral, and we had to go through some of Gran's papers." Rory reached into her back pocket and pulled out some folded pieces of paper. "And you will not believe what I have here."

Lorelai eyed the paper. "Did you steal Gran's will?"

Rory playfully swatted Lorelai's shoulder with the paper. "Of course I didn't."

"Oh, then, what is it?"

"I have here in my hand a copy of a letter from Gran to Grandpa begging him not to marry Grandma," Rory declared.

Lorelai's eyes widened and she gasped. "Get out!" She dried her hands on the towel in her lap, and then took the letter from Rory.

"It's insane," Rory said, shaking her head. "Not only did she send him the letter, but she kept a _carbon copy_ of it!"

Lorelai nodded toward the baby. "Don't take your eyes off him," she told Rory, and she started reading the letter, her eyes widening more with each sentence. "Wow... wow... wow... this is incredible." She suddenly looked at Rory and grimaced. "Did my mom see this?"

Rory shook her head. "No, thank God. I came across it in the stack of papers I was going through and immediately hid it from her."

"Good girl." Lorelai returned to reading the letter, and once she had gotten through both pages, she handed it back to Rory. "Wow. That's all I can say."

"What should I do with it?" Rory asked.

"Destroy it," Lorelai replied as she reached into the tub to help sit Josh up straighter. "We don't need anyone else seeing that, ever."

"Okay." Rory put the letter back in her pocket. "It sucks that Gran never tried to hide how she felt about Grandma, even to her face. That must've been hard for Grandma."

"Yeah, as unsubtle as my mother can be when _she_ dislikes someone, it pales in comparison to the commitment that Gran showed to making Emily's life miserable."

"I wish Grandpa would have stood up for Grandma. Maybe it would've helped."

"Well, he might have tried over the years, who knows," Lorelai said. "But Gran was gonna do what she wanted... she was set in her ways."

"Yeah."

"I gotta get him out, hold on," Lorelai said. She drained the water in the bathtub, grabbed a towel, and wrapped Josh in it. She carried him to the nursery, and Rory followed behind her. As Lorelai patted him dry and started to get him dressed, Rory sat down in the rocking chair.

"So, what are you doing tomorrow? Is there still stuff to do over there?" Lorelai asked.

"Yeah, Gran left very specific plans for her funeral, so Grandma's trying to track down some people, and I'm in charge of buying her a new outfit," Rory replied.

"You need to buy my mother a new outfit?"

"No, Gran requested a new outfit to be buried in."

Lorelai narrowed her eyes with confusion. "Well, that seems like a waste, but all right."

Rory shrugged. "Grandma gave me some money to do that tomorrow, and then I have to try to help rewrite her obituary because the first one didn't pass muster."

"I'm surprised Gran didn't have one written herself," Lorelai said. "You'd think she'd want some control over what was said about her."

"Maybe we haven't come across it yet... there are still a lot of things to go through."

"Is there anything I can help out with?" Lorelai asked. "I can come by tomorrow."

Rory shook her head. "Not really. Between me and Grandma, we've got it pretty much covered. Plus, the Spring Fling starts tomorrow," Rory reminded her. "It's Josh's first one, I know you're excited about that. And Sunday's the funeral, so tomorrow's the only day you can go."

Lorelai shrugged as she lifted Josh from the changing table.. "Seems kind of unimportant now when there are more serious things going on."

"It's still important," Rory said. "Life goes on. You have to enjoy the little things while you can."

Lorelai smiled. "Very wise of you."

"Well, I'm a Gilmore." Rory stood up from the rocking chair. "Where's Luke? At the diner?"

"No, he came home from the diner, and then went back out to pick up a dinner that would satisfy someone's Chinese food craving."

Rory nodded toward Josh. "This kid and his appetite, huh?"

"Yeah, tell me about it." Lorelai started walking toward the stairs, and Rory followed her down to the living room. "I have to find a babysitter for the funeral who won't be too busy with the festival. You think maybe Patty would be good?"

"Yeah, if she can get someone to cover her punch table."

The front door opened and Luke walked in with bags of food, and he smiled at Rory. "Hey," he said. "How'd it go at your grandparents' house today? Everything okay there?"

"Yeah, as okay as can be expected," Rory replied as she and Lorelai followed Luke into the kitchen.

"Hon, we were just talking about the funeral," Lorelai said. "And who we should get to watch the baby... I'm thinking of calling Patty."

"Okay." Luke paused and thought for a second. "Wait, no... ask Gypsy first."

Lorelai narrowed her eyes at the suggestion. "Gypsy? Really? I never pictured her as the babysitting type."

"Trust me, she wants to watch him. If she can't do it, then ask Patty."

"Okay, I'll go call her," Lorelai said. "Be right back." She grabbed the phone and walked with Josh to the living room.

Rory helped Luke open the containers of food. "I ate dinner with Grandma a little while ago, but I'm starting to get hungry again... you have some food to spare for a hungry college student?"

Luke smiled. "Always. Make yourself a plate."

Rory retrieved 3 plates from the cabinet and set them on the table, and she and Luke started spooning out food onto their plates. Rory sat down and started eating, and soon Lorelai returned to the kitchen with Josh and confirmed Gypsy could watch him on Sunday for the funeral.

"And she sounded really excited about it," Lorelai said with a confused smile.

Luke smiled. "Yeah, she told me last week she really likes babies. She stopped by for a visit one afternoon to see him."

"Ah, that explains the missing Rolos from the candy stash," Lorelai said.

"Yup." He gestured to a plate of food on the table. "Here, this is yours. I'll take him."

"Thank you." Lorelai passed the baby off to Luke and sat down at the table. She opened up a pair of disposable chopsticks and started eating.

Luke sat down with the baby and started talking to him and making faces, and Lorelai smiled at Rory. "Are you seeing how adorable this is?" Lorelai asked.

"With my own eyes," Rory confirmed.

"No comments from the peanut gallery," Luke said, eyeing them both. "Eat your food."

Lorelai smirked. "Sorry." She took a bite of an eggroll and said, "Okay, let's see... Spring Fling tomorrow, funeral on Sunday, back to regular lives on Monday... ugh, work."

"Ugh, school," Rory echoed. "I can't believe break is over already."

"What a weird rollercoaster of a break you had, though, huh?" Lorelai said. "Ten days of awesome international experiences followed by a few days of funeral planning. Bet no one else's break ran the gamut like that."

"I'll say," Rory said. "And then there's only two months left of the semester."

"Wow. First year of college is almost in the books," Lorelai said.

Luke stood up with Josh and walked over to the fridge as he asked Rory, "Any plans for the summer yet?"

"I applied for a couple of internship positions at some local papers," Rory replied. "So hopefully I'll get one of them... I should hear soon."

"I told her to go for the Stars Hollow Gazette," Lorelai added. "Can't get more local than that."

Rory smiled. "I was shooting for something a little bigger, but that'll be my backup."

Luke grabbed one of Josh's teething rings from the refrigerator and sat back down with him at the table. "An internship would be really good," Luke said. "You'd get some good experience and exposure."

"And expertise," Lorelai added. "All the major exes."

"Yeah, hopefully it'll work out," Rory said. "I feel stupid that I didn't even think of it myself... it was Paris' idea that I apply for one. She's always been good at thinking ahead and preparing for the future."

"Speaking of which, we need to start preparing for the super amazing celebration we're gonna have this summer," Lorelai said, and she rubbed her hands together excitedly.

Rory and Luke both looked at her with confusion. "What celebration?" Luke asked.

Lorelai gasped. "What celebration? Are you serious?"

"Dead serious," Luke confirmed.

Lorelai gasped again. "You failed to recognize that your son will be achieving his one year anniversary of living?"

Luke rolled his eyes. "No, you failed to recognize that I'm not planning a one year old's birthday party 4 months in advance."

"Celebrations require lots of planning time to be perfect."

"We didn't even plan our _wedding_ for that long," Luke reminded her. "We did it in less than a month, and it _was_ perfect."

Lorelai shook her head in disbelief. "I still can't believe we did that in that short amount of time. I wonder how many people thought it was a shotgun wedding and that I was pregnant."

"A lot," Rory replied, and they both looked at her with surprised looks. She shrugged. "What? I heard people talking."

Lorelai smirked. "Well, they were wrong, so joke's on them."

"Back to my point, it only took a month," Luke said.

"Yes, but see, we didn't have a baby making us exhausted all the time, so we didn't require as much time to achieve perfection," Lorelai explained. "But now I'll take us twice as long, so we need to allow for extra preparation time."

"So, that would be _two_ months," Rory said.

"Hello, who's not helping here?" Lorelai scolded her, and then explained, "It's twice as long for each of us individually, so that would be four months total."

"That doesn't make sense," Rory muttered.

"Two months it is," Luke declared. "We'll start planning in May."

Lorelai frowned. "Fine." She ate a bite of food, and then asked, "How much do you think it would cost to hire an ice cream truck to come to the party and give out free ice cream?"

Luke rolled his eyes. "Too much," he replied, and he gestured to her plate. "Eat your dinner. No party planning until May."

. . . . .

. . . . .

The following weekend, Luke was out front mowing the lawn and Lorelai was inside with Josh. As she sat with him on the floor watching him chew on various toys, the phone rang and she stood up to grab it from the desk.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Hey, Mom," Rory replied. "You busy?"

"Nope, just watching a boy shove things in his mouth," Lorelai replied as she sat down on the couch. "Which, by the way, is more exhausting than it sounds. What's up?"

"Just needed a distraction from schoolwork," Rory replied. "I figured you could handle that task."

"Oh, okay, let's see," Lorelai said, and pondered for a moment. "Um, Luke's outside mowing the lawn. Josh is, like I mentioned, chewing on every toy he can get his hands on..." She glanced at the television. "And there's an episode of _Bewitched_ on the TV, which is not only entertaining for _me_ , but also good for Josh because I want him to be cultured in the classics. And don't throw any neurological studies at me that talk about the negative effects of television on kids because he's not _watching_ it, his mind is merely absorbing it as it plays behind him."

"Since when do I throw neurological studies at you?" Rory asked.

"Uh, you did that one time for that one thing and it obviously had quite a negative effect on me," Lorelai replied. "You should do a study about how using neurological studies to make a point can be harmful to mothers."

"I'll look into that."

"Thank you." Lorelai noticed Josh reaching for a toy and she slid down onto the floor to help him. She squeezed the toy to activate its music and held the toy out to him. "Here you go," she said to him.

"So, Mom..." Rory started, and then hesitated for a moment.

Lorelai narrowed her eyes. "Yeah?" she prompted her.

Rory nervously cleared her throat. "Do you remember when we were walking through that outdoor market in Ireland and we saw that guy selling jewelry, and you said he kind of looked like Jake Ryan from _Sixteen Candles_ , but with lighter hair?"

Lorelai narrowed her eyes, surprised by the random question. "Yeah?"

"And then I said he reminded me of a guy who works on the Yale Daily News?"

Lorelai raised an eyebrow. "Oh, yeah, and then I bugged you for more details about said lighter-haired Jake Ryan lookalike that you'd never mentioned before, and you were very nonchalant about it."

Rory smiled. "Well, his name's Mark, and there wasn't anything to mention before."

"Well, I assume you wouldn't be bringing him up now unless there _was_ something to mention, so spill it."

Rory smiled. "Well, we've kind of become friends this semester. We chat at the paper, we have a class together, we email a little. Well, a lot, as of the past few days."

"Uh huh," Lorelai said intriguingly. "Go on."

"Well, yesterday he asked me if I wanted to go out for dinner one night this week."

Lorelai's eyes widened and she smiled. "Like a date? What'd you say?"

"I told him that would be fun," Rory replied.

Lorelai smiled. "Wow, okay. And you like him?"

"Yeah, he's nice," Rory replied. "Funny, smart. Oh, and he's on the track team, so of course I asked Janet about him."

"Ah, and what did Sporty Spice have to say?"

Rory smiled into the phone. Lorelai sometimes referred to Rory's roommates Janet, Tana, and Paris as Sporty Spice, Baby Spice, and Scary Spice. "I asked her what he's like during track meets, because how someone acts during competition can really show their true self, you know?"

"Yeah, like me in the dance marathon," Lorelai said knowingly.

"Exactly," Rory said. "But Janet said that from what she's seen, he's a good guy, not a jerk to people, he works hard but also tries to keep things fun."

"All positive feedback," Lorelai said.

"Yeah."

"Good! So, when are you going out?"

"Tomorrow," Rory replied. "I suggested that Mexican place a few blocks from my dorm."

"Well, I think it's great," Lorelai said. "You sound excited about it."

"I am," Rory confirmed.

"Good. I want all the details of the evening."

"You got it."

Lorelai glanced at the television. "You know, this episode's on for 10 more minutes if you want to upstage the child who only absorbs television with his mom instead of actually watching it with her."

Rory smiled. "Sure. What channel?" she asked as she reached for the remote.

. . . . .

. . . . .

A few weeks later, on the Saturday before Easter, Lorelai and Luke brought Josh to the annual Stars Hollow Easter Egg hunt in the town square.

Luke waited with Josh while Lorelai went to retrieve a basket to collect eggs in, and then she walked purposefully through the crowd and over to Luke. She leaned in close to his ear. "I have big news that no one knows but me. You ready?"

Luke's eyes widened with intrigue. "Yeah, what is it?"

"Well, apparently..." Lorelai started, and then looked around to make sure no one was nearby before she whispered, "Kirk didn't make an egg map."

Luke cocked his head to the side. "Seriously? No egg map?"

"No egg map," Lorelai repeated. "Kirk just told me himself."

"Taylor's gonna go nuts," Luke said before a small smile appeared on his lips. "Like insanely nuts."

Lorelai grinned and nudged him with her shoulder. "I thought you'd enjoy that."

"Made my day, thank you," Luke said.

"You're welcome," she replied, and she held up a small wicker basket. "Got the basket. He's in the baby category, so he needs to find 5 eggs to get a prize."

Miss Patty was walking toward them with a trail of dancers dressed like bunnies following behind her. "Hello, you two," she greeted them cheerfully. "Here come some Peter Cottontails."

"Looking good, bunnies," Lorelai said as they walked by, and then she glanced at the line forming next to the gazebo to get a picture with the Easter Bunny.

Luke followed her gaze and said, "Remember, we agreed, I'll go along with the Santa crap but we're not selling that Easter bunny crap to him."

"I know, I know, I'm just looking at the line," Lorelai told him. "And can we stop referring to all beloved holiday traditions you dislike as crap? That's gonna end up being his next word."

"Is that little guy saying real words now?" a voice asked, and Luke and Lorelai turned around to see a smiling Babette behind them. "Hi, guys."

Lorelai smiled. "Hi, Babette. Well, let's see, in the middle of long strings of babbling, we've heard some recognizable words like mama, dada, baba..."

"That's not a real word," Luke interjected.

"And occasionally we'll get something that sounds like papa," Lorelai finished.

"And for the record," Luke added, "even though he doesn't even know what any of these words mean when he accidentally mumbles them, he does tend to say dada the most."

Lorelai gasped. "Had to throw that in, huh?"

Luke smirked. "Well, I knew _you_ wouldn't."

Babette turned around and yelled, "Morey! The baby says dada the most even though he doesn't know what dada means!"

From across the square, Morey called, "Okay!"

Babette turned back to them. "He's growing up fast, huh?" she said as she leaned down to peer into the stroller.

"Yeah, I came downstairs yesterday and he was reading the Wall Street Journal," Lorelai said. "And we don't even _get_ the Wall Street Journal, so that meant he had to go out and buy it on his own first." She shook her head in disbelief. "Such an advanced baby."

Babette smiled. "Well, you let me know if you two wanna go out on a hot date any time soon, Morey and I will come over and sit with the little guy."

"You know, Lorelai's birthday is in a few weeks, so we might take you up on that," Luke said. "Maybe go out for dinner one night."

Lorelai smiled at him. "Good idea."

"Sounds good, dolls... just let us know when. Now get out there and find him some eggs before they're all gone," Babette said.

Babette walked back toward Morey, and Lorelai held up the basket to Luke. "Okay, let's go do this."

Luke lifted the baby from his stroller and they parked it off to the side by the church. They walked around looking for eggs, mingled with people, took some pictures, and eventually let Josh show off his crawling skills on the grass for a few minutes.

When Luke picked him back up, he looked at Josh's knees. "Got yourself some nice grass stains there, kid," he said proudly.

Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "Ugh, having a son is gonna turn me into one of those moms in detergent commercials who complain about her boys doing sports in the mud and getting their clothes all dirty, isn't it?" She paused a moment and then asked, "Doing sports? Is that right?"

"Playing sports," he confirmed. "And yeah, maybe. But who knows, maybe he won't be into sports."

"Well, considering you were talking about signing him up for t-ball the day after he was born, that would be a bummer for you."

Luke shrugged. "It would be nice if he did, but I'm not gonna force it if he doesn't have fun doing it. I don't wanna be one of _those_ dads."

Lorelai smiled. "And he just keeps getting more perfect every day. You're really gunning for that world's greatest dad title, huh?"

Luke smirked. "Come on, let's go get his prize."

They started walking across the square, and they ran into Dean and his sister.

"Dean, hi," Lorelai greeted him with a smile. "You home for the holiday weekend?"

"Yeah, someone would've hunted me down if I missed the egg hunt," Dean said, patting Clara's shoulder, and then said to her, "You remember Rory's mom?"

"Yeah," Clara shyly replied. "Hi."

"Hi," Lorelai said, smiling, and then asked Dean, "How's Southern Connecticut State?"

"It's going okay," Dean replied. "It's hard, but I'm getting through it."

"Good, good," Lorelai said.

"How are things with you guys?" Dean asked.

"Oh, they're good," Lorelai replied with a nod. "Tom just turned our downstairs closet into a bathroom, and it's amazing, but of course every time I use it, I feel bad for the upstairs bathroom who thinks I'm abandoning it."

"Of course," Dean replied understandingly, unfazed by Lorelai's habit of giving inanimate objects feelings. "But it probably appreciates the break... it's been working hard for a long time."

Lorelai smiled. "Good point."

"Is Rory here?" Clara asked Lorelai.

"No, she's not, but she's coming home later tonight," Lorelai replied.

"She was much nicer to me than his new girlfriend," Clara said, and then rolled her eyes. "Lindsay thinks she's Miss Perfect."

"Clara, stop, that's not nice," Dean told her.

"Let's go find more eggs," Clara whined, tugging on Dean's hand.

"Okay, we're going," he told her, and then said to Lorelai, "Duty calls. I'll see you guys."

"Bye, Dean," Lorelai replied.

"See ya," Luke added. As they walked away, Luke asked Lorelai, "Do he and Rory still keep in touch?"

"Yes," Lorelai confirmed. "When we were in Europe, she told me that they're still on good terms, and that they email each other once in awhile."

As they approached the prize tables, they saw Kirk standing on the sidewalk behind the tables looking nervously down at a clipboard. They stopped in front of him. "How's it going, Kirk?" Lorelai asked.

Kirk glanced at Luke and quickly hugged his clipboard to his chest. "Everything's fine here."

Luke rolled his eyes. "I know about the map, Kirk."

"It's okay, Kirk. He won't tell anyone," Lorelai said. "What's wrong?"

Kirk looked down at his clipboard. "Well, I've been keeping count of the eggs that have been exchanged for prizes, and we are way off the mark of what I hid."

"It's early," Luke said. "There are still a few hours to go."

Kirk rubbed his head with a pained look on his face. "This is a disaster. Taylor left me in charge of the egg hunt while he's away, and he's gonna kill me if he finds out I didn't make a map."

"He never has to find out," Lorelai said. "He's off on his fancy cruise, and when he gets back, just tell him that all the eggs were found and everything went smoothly."

"And what about a week or two from now when all the eggs start rotting?" Luke asked. "You know how bad one rotten egg smells, imagine dozens of them."

Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "Good point," she said, and then turned to Kirk. "You know, you really should switch to plastic eggs, then we wouldn't have this problem."

"Well, it's a bit late for that!" Kirk exclaimed.

Josh jumped at his outburst and started whimpering. Lorelai cradled him to her chest and calmed him down.

Luke glanced around and saw people looking at them. "Nothing to see here. Everything's fine." He turned to Kirk. "Okay, you need to calm down."

Kirk took a few deep breaths. "Sorry. This is obviously taking an emotional toll on me."

"We'll help you figure it out," Lorelai said. "Wait it out, see how many are found, and let us know later how many eggs are left. You have a couple of days before Taylor gets back... we'll help you look for the eggs."

"You will?" Kirk asked.

"We will?" Luke asked her, narrowing his eyes. "Seriously?"

"Yes, we will," Lorelai said firmly. "Because we're nice people, and maybe if Kirk knows that he has some nice people willing to help him, he can relax a little and not give himself a stroke."

"I would really appreciate it," Kirk said sincerely. "Thank you."

"Anytime," Lorelai replied. "Just try not to scare our kid again with loud outbursts."

Kirk saluted her. "You have my word." He leaned toward them. "Don't mention this to Lulu, okay? I don't want her to know that I couldn't handle the egg hunt on my own."

"Sure thing, Kirk," Lorelai said. "See you later."

They walked over to exchange their eggs for a prize, and then headed over to the food booths to get a soft pretzel. They mingled for a little while longer, and then started walking back toward the church where they'd left the stroller.

They settled Josh into it and were just starting to walk home when they heard a voice call, "Luke!"

They both looked in the direction of the diner and saw Liz running toward them. Lorelai gasped and looked at Luke. "Did you know Liz was gonna be in town?"

"Not a clue," he replied.

Liz reached them and hugged them both as she frantically explained, "I went to your house, you guys weren't there, and then I went to the diner, and you guys weren't there, and then I was leaving the diner and I happened to see you walking, and then I started running this way, and now I'm out of breath." She put her hands on her knees and huffed to catch her breath. "Whoa."

"Okay, so, now that we're all caught up on the logistics, what's up?" Luke asked her. "I didn't know you were visiting this weekend."

"Well, I wasn't planning on it, but we were on our way to visit TJ's family, and I wanted to make a pit stop to share some really exciting news," Liz announced, and she held up her hand to show them her ring. "We're engaged!"

Lorelai's mouth dropped open. "Oh, my God!"

Luke's eyes widened. "Seriously? Is that for real?"

"Looks real to me," Lorelai confirmed, pulling Liz's hand closer for a better look. "It's beautiful." She leaned in to hug Liz. "Congratulations, that's so exciting!" She pulled back and elbowed Luke. "Hon, isn't that great?"

Luke rubbed his temple. "Yeah, it's great, really great," he said, and he leaned in to hug Liz. "Congratulations, sis."

"Thank you," Liz replied, and as she pulled back, added, "I was so excited to tell you. And guess what? We're gonna try to do it here in Stars Hollow!"

"No way!" Lorelai exclaimed.

"Yeah, we're thinking a Renaissance theme wedding next month in the square."

"Oh, that'll be beautiful," Lorelai gushed.

"Next month, huh?" Luke asked. "That's fast. Are you sure you don't wanna maybe wait a few - " His voice trailed off when he saw Lorelai giving him a stern look, and he sighed softly before finishing with, "That doesn't give you a lot of time to plan, so let us know if you need help with anything."

Lorelai smiled proudly at him, and then looked at Liz. "Definitely, let us know if we can help."

"Thank you!" she said, throwing her arms around them both at the same time. "TJ and I would appreciate that so much." She gasped and kneeled down next to the stroller. "I didn't even say hi to the little guy. Hey, kiddo... you remember your Aunt Liz? She's getting married." She lightly tapped Josh on the nose. "And you're invited."

"So, where's TJ now?" Lorelai asked.

"Oh, he's on your front porch," Liz replied as she stood up.

Luke and Lorelai exchanged a look before Luke replied, "What do you mean?"

"Well, when no one was at your house, I suggested we go try the diner, and he thought it might be a good idea to wait out front in case you came home."

"Well, let's go tell him you found us," Lorelai suggested. "We were about to head home anyway."

"You know where Jess might be?" Liz asked. "I wanted to tell him the news, too, before we get back on the road."

"He's probably at work," Luke replied. "We can walk over there."

"Okay, great," Liz replied, and they started walking toward the bookstore.

"So, Jess told me Jimmy got in touch with you a few weeks back," Luke casually mentioned.

"Oh, yeah, he tracked down my number somehow and called to ask about Jess," Liz replied. "Isn't that wild?"

"Yeah, wild, definitely wild," Luke agreed. "And, uh, now Jess wants to go out and visit him in California this summer. What do you think about that?"

Liz shrugged. "I think it's good, it's about time he gets to know him. And Jimmy's trying to make amends... he told me that it's one of the biggest regrets of his life, leaving us and not staying in touch."

"And he sounded sincere?" Luke asked her. "Like he really meant it?"

"I don't think he would've reached out if he didn't," Liz said, and she gasped when she saw Jess through the bookstore's front window. "There he is! I'm gonna go give him the big news."

As Liz ran off, Luke looked at Lorelai, who cocked her head to the side. "You're worrying again," she said in a singsong voice.

"I'm not worrying," he replied. "I just wanted her take on it as someone who knows Jimmy and who has recently spoken to him, that's all." He pointed to his face. "See, no worrying."

Lorelai smiled. "Okay, just checking. Because when it looks like worry and it sounds like worry... I sometimes get confused and assume that it is in fact worry."

Luke smirked and leaned in to kiss her. "Well, you know what happens when you assume."

. . . . .

. . . . .

The next day, they went to Emily and Richard's house for Easter lunch. When they arrived, Emily led them to the living room where two elegant white wicker baskets sat on the coffee table. One was for Josh, filled with some toys and outfits that still had their Nordstrom tags on them. The second basket was filled with assorted treats for the rest of them to share.

Richard took their drink requests and walked over to the drink cart. Emily began pointing out some of the gourmet candies she had put in the basket.

When Josh started to squirm in Lorelai's lap, she stood up with him and walked over toward the edge of the room. She placed Josh on the ground. "Okay, let's see where you go, little man," she said, and he immediately started crawling and exploring the living room.

"My goodness, will you look at that," Richard said, watching him from the drink cart. "I think he's even faster today than he was last week."

"Yes, he practices all day, every day, until he wears himself out," Lorelai confirmed. "He's a big fan of the 'let's make Mommy and Daddy chase me around the house' game."

"You used to play that game with your nannies," Emily recalled. "I didn't much care for it."

Josh crawled a few feet, and then stopped and glanced back at Lorelai, who smiled down at him. "Yes, I'm watching you. I'm going to save you from choking hazards and other dangerous situations, like if you get too close to the antique furniture and your grandmother tries to kick you away."

"Oh, stop that," Emily scolded her. "Do not make that baby believe I'm a villain."

"Yes, Emily can convey that on her own," Richard teased. "She needs no help from you, Lorelai."

Emily gasped and turned to look at him. "Richard Gilmore! What has gotten into you?"

"Oh, I'm just teasing you, Emily," Richard told her. "No one thinks you're a villain."

"Well - " Lorelai started.

"Something smells good," Luke interrupted loudly, trying to change the subject. "What is that, lamb?"

"It is, indeed," Emily confirmed. "Rory, how are things at school?"

"They're good," Rory replied. "My classes are hard, but I'm learning a lot."

Richard walked over and set a tray of drinks on the coffee table. "And how is Professor Fleming's class?" he asked as he sat down. "I hear he can be pretty tough."

"I hear the students love him, though," Lorelai commented. "Like, _really_ love him."

Rory shot her a look, and then looked back at Richard. "He's a great teacher, and the class is really interesting."

"And is there anything new going on in the college dating scene?" Emily asked. "I bet there are a lot of prominent young bachelors vying for your attention."

Rory glanced uncertainly at Lorelai, hesitant to mention that she _was_ seeing someone, and then back at Emily. "Uh, I've just been focusing a lot on school, Grandma."

"That's very smart," Richard said. "Especially in your first year when you're still getting used to a college workload."

"My friend Cassie Sullivan's son is a freshman at Yale, too," Emily told Rory. "They're a wonderful family, we've known them for years. I can try to get his number for you if you want. Ooh, or maybe I could invite them all over for dinner sometime to introduce you two."

"Mom, she's focusing on school right now, she doesn't need a matchmaker," Lorelai said.

"Yeah, but thanks anyway for the offer, Grandma," Rory said politely.

After a few minutes of guiding Josh away from expensive furniture and lamps and other décor around the room, Lorelai picked him up from the floor and walked over to sit down next to Luke. "Can you hold him?" she asked. "Let's see if we can stay stationary for more than a minute."

"Yup." Luke put his drink on the coffee table and took Josh from her. "You want to check out one of your new toys, buddy?" he asked, and he picked one from the Easter basket. "Look at this, isn't this cool?" He pushed a button on the front of the guitar-shaped toy, which caused it to light up and play music.

"The young sales lady at the store recommended that," Emily told them.

Lorelai smiled as she watched Josh stare at the blinking lights. "It's great, he seems to like it," she said, and then picked up her glass from the table and took a sip.

"Good, I'm glad," Emily replied, and then she looked over at Richard. "Richard, isn't there something you wanted to discuss with Lorelai?"

Richard raised an eyebrow with surprise before he replied, "Yes, Emily, there is. I was going to wait until after lunch, but I suppose there's no time like the present." He stood up from his chair. "Lorelai, might I have a word with you privately?"

Lorelai narrowed her eyes and glanced curiously at Luke and Rory before she replied, "Uh, sure, Dad."

"We'll be right back," Richard said to the others.

As Lorelai followed Richard out of the living room, she heard Emily say to Rory, "You know, we also know the Campbell soup family... they have a boy about your age. I know you're focusing on school now, but maybe you two could connect when the semester's over..."

Lorelai and Richard walked across the hall to his study and he shut the door behind them. "Have a seat," he said.

Lorelai sat in the chair as he walked around to the other side of his desk. He sat down, opened up a folder, and flipped through a few papers. "So, I have something important to discuss with you," he said.

Lorelai started to feel nervous. "Is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine," Richard replied. "As you know, we've been getting all of your grandmother's affairs in order, going through her important papers, her finances, things like that."

Lorelai frowned sympathetically. "Right."

"And we've come to find out that Trix was aware of her heart issues, and while she was on medication, she also had started to... one might say, make appropriate plans for the future."

Lorelai's eyes widened. "Oh, my God. She kept that to herself? _You_ didn't even know?"

"Not specifically that it was her heart," Richard replied. "She had mentioned some health concerns, but she didn't go into detail. I suppose she didn't want to worry anyone too much."

Lorelai frowned. "That's sad that she was dealing with that on her own, but that certainly sounds like Gran."

"That it does," Richard agreed.

"Maybe that's why she wanted to give us that money for Josh," Lorelai mused. "She was trying to find ways to help out before she left us." She sighed and hung her head. "And I argued with her about it... what a jerk I was."

"Well, what's done is done," Richard said. "And I've brought you in here to tell you that there is also another trust that was prepared for you."

"For me?" Lorelai asked, surprised, as she placed a hand on her chest. "Or for the kids?"

"For you, Lorelai," Richard replied. "Trix might not have said it often, but she liked that you've always been a hard worker, that you run that inn like it's your own. And she wanted to make sure you had the opportunity to have one of your own, so she set aside some funds for you to put toward that goal."

Surprised, Lorelai's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. "What? Are you serious?"

"I am indeed," Richard replied. He slid a piece of paper across the desk showing her the amount of the trust.

Lorelai stared down at the number and blinked a few times. "I don't even know what to say. That's amazing."

"There is one caveat, though," Richard added, pulling the paper back from her.

"Caveat?"

"Yes. She has declared that the funds must be used for the intended manner within three years of the date of her passing, or they will no longer be available."

Lorelai narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean, the money just evaporates? What, does it explode like one of those dye packs in a bank robbery?"

Richard glanced down at the paper in front of him. "It says here that any unused funds remaining after 3 years will be donated to charity." He folded his hands on his desk and sat silently, waiting for her to process the information.

Lorelai stared down at the desk while she contemplated the news, her mind reeling with what this meant. Finally, she asked, "So, I have to open my own inn within the next three years or I lose the money?"

" _Open_ it, no," Richard replied. "Invest in it, yes. It doesn't say the inn has to be opened, you just need to use the money towards your own inn in some way. Purchasing of land, construction, furnishings, et cetera. And you don't have to use all of it, you can use what you need, and then anything leftover will be donated when the clock runs out."

Lorelai shook her head in disbelief. "But why? Why would she put an expiration date on free money? It doesn't make sense."

"Well, I imagine it's because she didn't want you to keep putting this off and then never get to it," Richard replied. "This is her way of encouraging you to take some steps toward your dream... she was trying to light a fire under you."

"I can't do something like that in the next few years, though," Lorelai said exasperatedly, shaking her head. "That timeline's not gonna work... there are too many other things going on."

"Nobody is forcing you to do anything, Lorelai," Richard calmly pointed out. "Just because the money is there doesn't mean you need to use it. You can let it go and then just find other resources to open your inn when you're ready. She was just giving you an option if you wanted to use it."

"Yeah, but it's free money," Lorelai said. "I'd be a fool not to take it."

"Well, it's not something you need to figure out today," Richard said. "You have almost three years to think about it and decide what's best for you."

"Right." Lorelai exhaled a deep breath. "Wow. This is big. And unexpected. And generous."

"Indeed it is. My mother was quite a woman."

"Yes, she was," Lorelai agreed.

Richard was quiet for a moment, sadly looking off to the side, and then he finally stood up from his desk. "Well... shall we get back to the others?"

Lorelai nodded and stood up. "Does Mom know about this?"

"She does not," Richard replied. "She knew that I had something to discuss with you, but I was not at liberty to give her any specific information. It's a private matter, so it's up to you to decide whom to share this with, and when."

Lorelai nodded understandingly, and she followed him out of the study and back to the living room.

. . . . .

. . . . .

Later that afternoon, as soon as they were in the car ready to head home, Rory said, "Okay, come on, Mom... tell us."

"Yeah, I can't believe you made us wait that entire time," Luke said. "I was going nuts."

Lorelai smiled. "Sorry, I didn't want it to become the topic of conversation during lunch and get hammered with questions."

Lorelai then shared with Luke and Rory the news Richard had given her.

Luke's eyes were wide with disbelief. "That's incredible."

"So, while I was in the living room listening to Grandma humiliatingly rattle off a list of eligible bachelors my age who I should contact over the summer, you were getting handed a pile of free money?" Rory asked. "That was not a fair split."

Lorelai smirked and glanced into the back seat. "I know, I'm sorry. Why didn't you just tell her you're seeing someone?"

"Because that would've led to a lengthy inquisition and her wanting to know all about him and she'd want to meet him, and I'm not ready to deal with all that yet," Rory replied with a sigh. "Anyway, back to the money... that's amazing, Mom... really."

Lorelai nodded in agreement before turning back to face the front. "Yeah, it is. But three years... I don't know about that."

"Three years is a good amount of time," Luke told her. "Especially since I wouldn't have been surprised if she had given you a _three_ _month_ time frame just to really push you. Three years is generous for her, it gives you time to plan and sort things out."

Lorelai looked at him with an appreciative smile. He was pretty good at pointing out the bright side of things when she needed it. "Very true."

"It also gives you time to convince Fran to sell the Dragonfly," Rory said. "She didn't want to a few years ago, but maybe she's changed her mind by now."

"Especially after that health scare last year," Luke added. "She surprised everyone by pulling through, but it had to have put things in perspective for her."

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, maybe." She exhaled a soft sigh. "My head is spinning a little. Let's get home. Rory has plans with Lane."

Luke started the car and looked at Rory in the rearview mirror. "Anything exciting?"

Rory shrugged. "We're just gonna catch up, maybe walk around the square and see if we can help find some missing eggs."

"How many did Kirk say were left?" Luke asked Lorelai.

"59, as of last night," Lorelai replied. "But I contacted a few people and asked them to help look if they have time, so hopefully the number is down by now."

Luke rolled his eyes. "Still can't believe he didn't make an egg map," he muttered as he pulled out of the driveway.

. . . . .

. . . . .

They went home and changed into more casual clothes, and then Rory headed out to see Lane. Luke and Lorelai spread a blanket on the front lawn, and they sat outside with Josh and some toys.

Lorelai looked at Luke. "So... what do we think about this whole inn situation?"

"Well, _I_ think it's good, but you don't seem so sure," Luke said. "So, what's up, what's going through your head?"

"I think it's good, it's definitely good, but..." Lorelai exhaled a deep breath. "For a long time, Sookie and I have had this dream... this _open ended_ _dream_... we wanted to someday accomplish. There wasn't a time frame on it, it was just this goal in the back of our minds that we wanted to reach _someday_ , and we both knew when the timing was right, we'd go for it." She exhaled another deep breath before adding, "But now... there's a time frame on it."

"Yeah, but you said yourself not too long ago that you wanted to do it within the next few years," Luke reminded her.

"Yes, but I said that knowing that it didn't _have_ to be done in the next few years," she replied. "If something came up or we needed to postpone it, we could, no big deal. But now I feel this pressure that I didn't have before. Like instead of waiting for the timing to be right, we have to somehow _make_ the timing be right and seize this opportunity."

"Well, that's exactly what an opportunity is... it presents itself and you take it," Luke pointed out. "You're not always ready for it, but you jump on it when it comes around."

Lorelai nodded. "That's true."

"But, you know, if it's gonna add stress to your life, if you're not ready for this opportunity... you don't _have_ to use the money."

"Are you kidding me?" Lorelai replied with a laugh. "Of course I have to. We can't just let that money fall through the cracks. We need it, and for once and probably the last time in our lives, there aren't any strings attached to it. Except, of course, for this 3-year thing. I'm like Richard Pryor in _Brewster's Millions_ , except he had to spend the money in 30 days."

"And a hell of a lot more of it," Luke added.

Lorelai watched as Josh started to crawl off of the blanket and onto the grass. "Where you going, kid?"

Luke stood up to retrieve him and brought him back to the blanket. "We knew he wouldn't stay still for long."

Lorelai watched as Josh started to crawl away again, and then she stood up. "I'm gonna get him some Cheerios to snack on... that might occupy him for a few minutes."

Lorelai went into the house, and Luke let Josh crawl around on the grass for a minute. When she came back out, he brought him back over to the blanket. She held out some cereal on her palm and watched him try to delicately pick them up with his tiny fingers. "There you go, you got it," she said encouragingly.

Luke watched her for a moment interacting with Josh before he asked, "Do you still even want your own inn?"

Lorelai was surprised at the question. "What?" she asked, her eyes narrowing at him.

"Do you still _want_ it?" he asked. "It's okay if you don't, you're not bound to it for life. You're allowed to change your mind."

"Why are you asking me that?"

"Because I would've thought you'd be a little more excited about this, that you'd already be calling Sookie and making plans."

"I _am_ excited about it," Lorelai insisted.

"Not completely," he disagreed. "I know you, Lorelai... something's off."

"Well, I'm just processing it. There's just a lot to think about before I can actually be a hundred percent fully excited."

"Like?" he prompted her. "What are you concerned about? Let's talk it out."

"Well, first of all, like you said, I have to talk to Sookie about it, see if she's okay with that timeline," Lorelai said. "She's my partner, she plays a big role in this... we do it together or not at all."

"Okay, yes, what else?"

Lorelai was quiet for a few seconds, and then she nibbled on her bottom lip. "You're gonna think I'm crazy."

"That ship has sailed," he replied without hesitation, making her smile. She put a few more Cheerios in her hand and offered them to Josh, and then looked at Luke.

"It's stupid to even say this, but I really like the routine we have now," Lorelai said with a shrug. "I like doing mornings at the inn and afternoons at home... it's like we have the best of both worlds. The thought of disrupting that right now kind of makes me sad. I won't have that flexibility when I'm the boss."

"Why not? I'm the boss of the diner, and I've got plenty of flexibility."

"Your business is well-established," Lorelai pointed out. "It'll take us a few years to get everything running smoothly enough for me to relax and step back a little." She glanced toward the house. "Plus, we were gonna do some remodeling soon... so that throws another big project into the mix."

"Well, we can put that off if we have to," Luke suggested.

Lorelai quickly shook her head. "No, I think we should do it sooner rather than later... just to... you know, so we can... if there's..." She exhaled a little, frustrated with her sudden inability to create a proper sentence. "I just think it'd be good to get it done, you know?"

Luke's curiosity was piqued by her flustering, but he just nodded. "Yeah, okay."

Her gaze drifted to Josh, who had given up on the Cheerios and was now crawling toward the front porch. "I'm gonna have abandonment issues if you keep leaving me, kid." Lorelai said as she stood up from the blanket. "Where are you going?"

Luke and Lorelai both watched as Josh got to the bottom step and slowly started to pull himself up to a standing position. He smacked his hand on the wooden step and started babbling excitedly.

"Oh, you're so happy when you're standing like a big boy, huh?" Lorelai cheerfully cooed at him. They watched the baby stand at the bottom step for a minute, looking around, trying to decide what to do next, and when he started to try to climb up onto the step, Lorelai grabbed him. "Nope, you don't have those skills yet, dude."

She brought him back over to the blanket, set him down, and then threw one of his toys a few feet away on the grass. "Go ahead, I know you're gonna take off anyway, you might as well have something to crawl toward."

As expected, he took off crawling toward the toy. When he reached it, he sat down, picked it up, and started examining it.

Lorelai looked at Luke. "What if we connect some sort of leash to his ankle so that I can sit on the blanket and then just pull him back to me without getting up when he starts to crawl away? That's a solid plan, right?"

Luke smirked. "It has some flaws we'd have to work out."

Lorelai tapped her chin in thought. "Hm. I'll think of something else."

They both walked closer to Josh and watched him play with his toy. Finally, Luke cleared his throat and casually asked, "So... why sooner rather than later for the remodel?"

Lorelai turned to look at him. She cocked her head to the side as a small smile formed on her lips.

Just by the way he'd asked, she could tell that he knew exactly what she was thinking, and this was his way of initiating the conversation.

She was suddenly hit with a wave of nervousness. They hadn't discussed this topic in awhile, and although he'd made no indication that he had changed his mind about it, it didn't keep her from wondering if maybe he had.

"Well," she finally said, and then she glanced down at Josh and then back at Luke. "Because of that topic that we mutually agreed to avoid for awhile."

"Are you ready to un-avoid it?" he asked. "I am if you are."

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah." She stared at him for a moment, hesitating to ask him what she needed to know, and then she finally spit it out quickly. "Have you changed your mind since our last discussion?"

"About wanting another kid?" Luke replied, and then shook his head. "No, I haven't. Have you?"

"Well, I've been thinking about it the past few weeks," she started.

That surprised him and he raised an eyebrow. "Few _weeks_? Why didn't you mention it to me?"

"Because I knew what I wanted, but needed to sit on my decision for a little while and make sure it wasn't something I was wavering on," she explained.

"Okayyy," he said slowly, waiting to hear more.

"And it hasn't wavered, and then today, when my dad sprung that 3-year thing on me, the first thought that popped into my head was... what about the kid?" she continued. "I started worrying about how having a timeline around the new inn would affect us having another baby." She smiled as she added, "So, that's when it hit me that I'm not going to waver on that decision. It's as solid as a rock. Or concrete. Or a rock that falls into freshly poured concrete and is cemented there for life. _That's_ how non-wavering it is."

Luke let out a small laugh, and then smiled at her. "Yeah?"

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah. And I don't mean that in the vague sense of _someday_ I wanna have another one. I mean, if you're ready to have another one soon, let's go for it."

"I'm ready when you are," he told her. "It's up to you." Lorelai's lips slowly curved into a smile and they shared a tender kiss.

Lorelai glanced down to check on Josh, still content on the grass, and then she looked at Luke. "This is kind of crazy, you know?" she said. "He's not even a year old. People are totally gonna think the next one's an accident... we're gonna be the talk of the town." She rubbed her hands together excitedly. "That's gonna be fun."

Luke smiled. "Let 'em think what they want, as long as they still wanna help babysit."

"It'll be cute having them close in age, but it's gonna be hard," she said. "Having two kids so young... it's going to be chaotic and exhausting."

"I know." He stepped closer to her and put his hands on her waist. "It might be crazy and chaotic, but we're a pretty good team, we can handle it."

"Right." Lorelai draped her arms over his shoulders. "So, roadblocks officially down?"

Luke smiled and nodded. "Yup," he confirmed, and leaned in to kiss her.

. . . . .

. . . . .

 **To be continued...**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

. . . . .

. . . . .

The next day at the Independence Inn, Lorelai was on the phone when Michel arrived, and he started going through some papers next to her. She finished booking a reservation and hung up the phone, and Michel immediately said, "You did not put the groundskeeping invoice in the right spot."

Lorelai smiled and cheerfully replied, "My weekend was great, Michel, how was yours?"

"It was fantastic," Michel replied dryly. "I went to the gym, I ate impeccably healthy, I slept a solid 8 hours last night, I woke up in a mood rivaling that time my grandfather gave me his pair of antique French cufflinks, and then the first thing I see this morning is the groundskeeping invoice in the wrong spot, so that sets the tone for the entire week."

"Well, I'm very sorry that my misplacement of a piece of paper has ruined your week," Lorelai said sympathetically. "What about if, to make up for it, I _don't_ remind you about last week when you spilled your coffee on the reservation book because you got scared when you saw a spider and then we had to dry it with a hair dryer?" She cocked her head to the side. "Okay?"

Michel scrunched his nose at her and grumbled, "Fine."

Lorelai smiled and patted him on the back. "Great. Now, can you watch the desk? I have to go talk to Sookie."

As Michel started muttering under his breath about how big the spider was, Lorelai headed to the kitchen. "How's it going in here?" she asked as she walked through the swinging door.

Sookie excitedly waved her wooden spoon in the air. "Do you smell it?"

Lorelai took a deep breath. "Yes, I do, I smell it! I smell... _something_." She narrowed her eyes. "What exactly do I smell?"

"You smell the carrot cake muffin recipe that I've just perfected," Sookie cheerfully declared. "I was getting bored with the old recipe and decided to try to give it some more _oomph_ , and after 10 tries, I finally got it absolutely perfect."

Lorelai gasped. "Cool! That's exciting, guests love muffins with oomph."

Sookie nodded and giggled with excitement. "And I'm making a cream cheese frosting, obviously."

"Obviously." Lorelai walked over to the coffee maker. "How was your Easter?"

"It was good," Sookie replied. "We went to Jackson's parents' house for a late lunch, and then we came home and took Davey for a walk through town and played out in the yard for awhile."

"We did that, too. The weather was beautiful."

"It was perfect. We saw a lot of people out looking for the missing eggs."

"Yeah, they made some good progress," Lorelai replied as she walked back over to Sookie with her cup of coffee. "There are only a dozen or so left."

"How was your Easter?" Sookie asked. "How was lunch with your parents?"

Lorelai set her coffee on the counter. "It was good, and something happened that I want to talk to you about... something big and important and unexpected."

"Ooh, intrigue," Sookie replied, and she sat down on the stool next to the counter. "What's up?"

Lorelai glanced around the kitchen, taking note of where the staff was and lowering her voice accordingly. "Well... what do you think about us getting a move on our own inn within the next few years?" she asked quietly. "You think that's doable?"

Sookie was surprised by the question, but replied with a nod. "I think so. Why?"

Lorelai explained the situation with Gran's money, and how it needed to be used toward the new inn within three years. "We don't have to technically open it by then, but I have to start investing in it, I have to use this money towards it in some way before I lose it," Lorelai finished.

Sookie's eyes were wide as she listened to Lorelai. When Lorelai had finished, Sookie stared at her silently for a moment before blinking her eyes a few times and shaking her head in disbelief. "Okay, first of all, your relatives are _way_ more generous than mine are."

"Yeah, well, payoffs are how they eventually try to make up for trying to manipulate you your whole life."

"Hey, I'll take the lifelong manipulation if it ends with a cash settlement," Sookie said.

Lorelai smiled. "So, what do you think?" she asked. "You think we can do it?"

"Yeah, I think that gives us plenty of time to either try to get the Dragonfly, or look for another property," Sookie said. "And also, once we do get something going, we'll have time to let Mia know we're leaving without just leaving her in the lurch, you know?

Lorelai covered her face with her hands. "Ugh, I forgot about that part... breaking it to Mia."

"But she knows that's our goal," Sookie reminded her. "You told her yourself that was the plan someday and she was happy for us."

"I know, but it still makes me feel bad."

Sookie squeezed Lorelai's hand. "Don't feel bad. She wants this for us... think about how proud she's gonna be!"

Lorelai smiled and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, she will be proud." She glanced around them, and then leaned in closer to Sookie. "And there's one more thing that I'll fill you in on, just between us... Luke and I are gonna start trying for baby number 2. Well, 3 for me, 2 for him."

Sookie gasped. "Oh my God!" She stood up and hugged Lorelai. "That's so exciting!"

Lorelai grinned and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it is."

Sookie's smile suddenly faded into a look of confusion. "Wait... was that another one of your grandmother's dying requests?"

Lorelai laughed and shook her head. "No, this was our decision, and no outsiders were involved in making it."

"Oh, okay, good, because that would be a little weird."

"Insanely weird," Lorelai said, and then shrugged as she added, "But hey, if the price was right..."

"Sign me up!" Sookie finished, and they both giggled.

Lorelai exhaled a breath. "So... three years," she said. "We have time, but we should also start planning things, okay?"

"A lot could happen in the next few years," Sookie said, hesitating before she added, "You know, with older people getting older and weaker, and possibly -"

"Sookie," Lorelai hissed, interrupting her. "We're not going to manifest something bad happening to any older people for our benefit."

"Okay, okay, sorry. I was just saying... things could happen."

"Yes, things could happen. But if they don't, let's have a backup."

Sookie quickly nodded. "Okay, yes, good idea."

Lorelai picked up her coffee cup. "I have to get back out there before Michel throws a fit," she said. "Your date night's still on for Saturday, right?"

"Yup. You and Luke are still available?"

"Absolutely. We've got 'watch Davey' written on the calendar in big red letters, so we're all set," Lorelai told her. "Now, question for you - can you guys do Sunday, May 2nd?"

Sookie thought for a moment. "I think so, but I'll check with Jackson. Something going on that day?"

"It's Luke's sister's wedding, so I figured we could take Josh for a little while, and then pass him off to a babysitter for a few hours." Lorelai smiled and shrugged. "We'll be all dressed up, it'll feel like a fancy date night... might as well take advantage of that. It'll be our first date where we're surrounded by people dressed in medieval wear, so that should be fun."

Sookie giggled. "It _will_ be fun! I'm a little jealous. And I think we're free, but I'll let you know."

"Thanks," Lorelai replied, and she started walking toward the door, calling over her shoulder, "I'll see you later."

"Bye."

. . . . .

. . . . .

Two weeks later, on the last Sunday of April, Luke was at the stove cooking breakfast, Lorelai was at the kitchen table, and Josh was eating in his high chair.

They heard the front door open, and Rory's voice immediately called, "Where's the birthday girl?"

"In here!" Lorelai called from the kitchen.

Rory appeared at the entrance of the kitchen and smiled when she saw Lorelai. "Happy birthday!"

Lorelai grinned. "Thank you." She stood up from the table and they hugged tightly. They separated and Lorelai kissed her on the cheek. "You're just in time for birthday breakfast."

"It smells great," Rory said, glancing over at the stove. "Hey, Luke."

"Hey, Rory," Luke replied. "You want some coffee?"

"Sure."

"I'll get it," Lorelai offered. "I need a refill anyway." She grabbed her cup and walked over to the coffee maker.

"I'm gonna put this down," Rory said, referring to her backpack, and then took it to her bedroom. She returned to the kitchen and sat down next to Josh. "Hey, buddy, what are you eating?" Rory asked him, and then surveyed the food on his high chair tray. "Let's see... I see some blueberries, bananas, watermelon. Someone's eating healthy, huh?"

Lorelai sat back down at the table with two cups of coffee. "Yeah, Luke's trying to nutritionalize him while he's young and impressionable."

"There's no hope for you two, but he still has a chance," Luke added.

"How was dinner last night?" Rory asked. Babette and Morey had watched Josh while Luke and Lorelai went out for a celebratory birthday dinner.

"It was really nice, we loved our meals," Lorelai replied, and then she glanced over at Luke. "And dessert was amazing, too - right, hon?"

"Yup," Luke agreed.

Rory made a face. "Ugh. Stop there, please."

Lorelai smirked. "I was referring to the amazing dessert sampler platter that we shared at the restaurant, and nothing else."

Rory exhaled a sigh of relief. "Okay."

"But thanks for your constant reminder that you find just the basic idea of us being intimate the most revolting image in the world," Lorelai added.

"Do you know a single person in the world who _doesn't_ find the idea of their parents being intimate revolting?" Rory countered. "I mean, think about _your_ \- "

Lorelai held up her hands. "Don't you dare finish that sentence," she interrupted. "That's not an image we want to conjure up _ever_ , let alone on my birthday."

"Well, it's how you got a birthday to begin with, so it's all related," Luke chimed in.

Lorelai made a face. "Ugh, come on."

"Okay, we're dropping the subject," he said as he brought their plates to the table. "Breakfast is ready." Luke grabbed his own plate and sat down with them to eat.

"Did you get your work done yesterday?" Lorelai hopefully asked Rory.

"Yup, worked on my paper all night and finished it, so I'm completely yours all day today," Rory confirmed. "No rushing back to school to do homework."

Lorelai excitedly clapped her hands. "Yay! Okay, we'll go to the flower show in the square for a little while, grab lunch there, and then when Josh is ready for his nap, maybe Luke can bring him home while the girls go use my birthday coupons." She turned to Luke and added, "Stars Hollow Beauty Supply and Sissy's Shoes have generously offered me 10% off my purchases today. Can you stay with the boy while we put these coupons to good use?"

"Yeah, I'll bring him home while you go save ten percent off a bunch of crap you don't need," Luke replied dryly.

Lorelai grinned. "Thanks." She turned back to Rory. "Luke is totally fine with the plan."

Rory smirked. "So I heard."

"When should we do presents?" Lorelai asked.

"Whenever you want," Rory replied. "I'm kind of surprised you didn't insist on doing it before we even ate breakfast. I bet the wait is driving you insane."

Lorelai wrinkled her nose as she admitted, "It kind of is."

Rory smiled. "We'll do it after breakfast."

Lorelai exhaled a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

"So, Rory, when do you start your internship?" Luke asked.

"In a few weeks," Rory replied. "A few days after the semester ends."

"The Hartford Courant is a good paper," Lorelai said. "I'm glad you're gonna be somewhere local."

"Yeah, well, considering they're the only paper that offered me anything, I didn't really have a choice," Rory said dejectedly. "Ten applications and only one offer."

"Hey, you got one, kid, and a good one," Lorelai pointed out. "There are probably thousands of people who applied to places and didn't get _any_ offers, right?"

"Yeah," Rory replied quietly.

"And it's paid," Lorelai reminded her. "You know how many college students would love to have an internship at all, let alone a _paid_ one?"

Rory quickly nodded. "Okay, yes, I get your point. I should be grateful for what I got and not whine about not getting more."

"Yes. You got a good gig. You'll work hard, you'll be amazing, and next summer, you'll get another good gig."

Rory smiled appreciatively at Lorelai. "Thanks, Mom."

"You're welcome."

Rory ate a forkful of food, and then said, "Everything's really good, Luke."

"Thanks," Luke replied.

"I agree... good meal, hon," Lorelai said. She cut off a piece of her pancake and broke it into smaller pieces to put on Josh's tray. "There you go, some birthday pancake for you, dude. If you finish that, maybe I'll give you some birthday French toast." She watched as Josh delicately picked up a piece of pancake and bought it to his mouth.

"What do you wanna do after his nap?" Rory asked. "You have plans for the second half of the day?"

"I thought we could just hang out here, maybe sit outside for a little while," Lorelai replied. "And then Sookie's family is coming over for dinner and cake."

"Sounds good," Rory replied.

Lorelai took a sip of her coffee and then set it down on the table. "But let's get to the important matter at hand... we need new dresses for Liz's wedding."

Luke groaned. "Geez."

"Are you groaning at the idea of the wedding or the new dresses?" Lorelai asked.

"Both."

"What do we wear to a Renaissance wedding?" Rory asked.

"I'm not sure if this is accurate, but I'm picturing it in my head to look like the wedding from _The Princess Bride_ ," Lorelai replied. "So let's use that as inspiration."

"Ooh, Luke could be Inigo Montoya," Rory suggested.

"Not happening," Luke replied.

"Or we can dress Josh up as Inigo, and Luke can be the dude with eleven fingers," Lorelai suggested.

"Luke would be a villain?" Rory asked confusedly. "Why wouldn't Luke be Wesley?"

"Because it would be fun to make him a glove with 6 fingers on one hand and watch him wear it all night," Lorelai said.

Rory's eyes widened. "Ooh, yeah, that would be fun."

Luke shook his head slightly. "No one is dressing up like a movie character, this is not a costume party," he said. "I'm wearing a normal suit and that's it. Just wear a normal dress."

Lorelai cocked her head to the side. "Need I remind you that - "

"Today's your birthday," Luke finished for her. "Yes, you've mentioned it. That doesn't mean I'm not gonna tell you no when you suggest something I don't wanna do. For example - dressing up in a costume for my sister's wedding."

Lorelai tapped her finger to her chin, pondering something, and then asked, "Okay, but what if I'm able to find some sort of Renaissance costume that involves plaid? Then would you go for the idea?"

Luke sighed and pointed to her plate. "Eat your breakfast."

. . . . .

. . . . .

A few hours later, after they'd spent some time at the flower show, Luke took Josh home, and Lorelai and Rory headed to the shoe store.

As they walked through the aisle collecting shoes to try on, Lorelai said, "You should start bringing home some of your stuff from your dorm. You know, the smaller things you won't be needing over the next two weeks. And then we'll come up with the SUV to get the bigger stuff."

"Okay," Rory agreed. "I'll bring some stuff next weekend."

"Okay." Lorelai paused a moment before casually adding, "And if you wanted to bring home any of your college pals for a visit, that's okay, too."

Rory smiled. "You'll meet him soon, Mom, I promise."

"How soon is soon?" Lorelai asked. "Like a few hours soon, or more like a few weeks soon?"

"Somewhere in between. I am waiting for the right time."

"Any time is a good time. I'm very flexible, I'll work around your schedule for the highly important parental introduction."

"I know, but I don't want it to be a situation where I'm bringing him home specifically to meet the parents and then we have a 3-hour inquisition over dinner," Rory said. "I need to bring him to an event or something so the introduction part happens naturally but it's not the main focus of the day."

"A 3-hour inquisition? You're confusing the parental meeting with the grandparental meeting, hon," Lorelai pointed out. "Luke and I won't do that."

"I know you won't, I just don't want Mark to be nervous. I want it to be pressure-free for everyone." Rory shrugged and added, "I'm probably overthinking it."

"You? Never," Lorelai joked, and then she suddenly gasped. "Ooh, I know...you should bring him to Liz's wedding! I'm sure she wouldn't mind, and then you have an actual event to bring him to."

Rory looked pained at the thought. "Come on, I don't want to scare him away."

Lorelai laughed. "What? There's no better way to let him know what he's getting into with you than by bringing him home to meet your super friendly mother, adorable brother, and overprotective stepfather at a Renaissance-themed wedding in the middle of the most charming, gossipiest town in Connecticut."

Rory smiled and rolled her eyes. "Uh, yeah, I think I'm good."

"All right, fine," Lorelai said, giving up on the idea. "I'll meet him when I meet him, I'm not gonna bug you about it."

"Thank you."

"Share some more information, at least. I know he grew up in the Providence area and comes from a big family, that's about it. What's he doing for the summer?"

"He has an internship at this financial company outside of Norwich, for like 6 weeks or something," Rory replied. "His oldest brother's family lives in Norwich, so he's gonna stay with them, and then when his internship is over, he's gonna work at their veterinary clinic a few days a week."

"Veterinary clinic," Lorelai repeated. "Interesting."

"Yeah, his brother's a vet and his wife's a nurse who helps run the office," Rory explained. "Mark has been helping out there since they opened a few years ago."

"Very cool, and it's a plus that he likes animals," Lorelai said. "It shows a nurturing side."

"Yeah, so absolutely under no circumstances should you tell him the hamster story," Rory warned her.

Lorelai smiled. "I promise."

After they tried on some shoes and decided on their final purchases, they spent some time at the beauty supply store.

Afterwards, as they were walking through the square to head home, Lorelai heard a voice call, "Lorelai, hey!"

Lorelai and Rory both turned around and saw a guy walking toward them. "Who's that?" Rory asked.

Lorelai squinted a little, and tried to block the sun with her hand to see him better. "Oh, that's Luke's friend, John. You remember, he was in the wedding."

"Oh, right," Rory said.

"Hey, John," Lorelai greeted him as he reached them. "You remember my daughter, Rory?"

"Definitely. How are you guys?"

"We're good," Lorelai said, and held up the shopping bag in her hand. "Successful day."

John smiled. "I see that. Happy birthday, by the way... is it today? Or yesterday?"

"It's today, and thanks," Lorelai replied, smiling. "Did Luke mention it?"

"Yeah, I asked him last week if he wanted to go camping this weekend and he said he couldn't, that it was your birthday," John replied. "So I told him to let me know when he was free. He said maybe sometime over the summer."

Lorelai frowned. "You guys haven't been camping in forever, I feel bad."

"It's okay, life gets busy," John said with a shrug.

"Wait, let me think," Lorelai said, and she glanced up toward the sky, trying to picture the next few weekends in her head. "Next weekend is his sister's wedding, and then it's Mother's Day weekend... but I think the next weekend is free." She looked at John. "What about the 15th, does that work for you?"

"I think so, I'd have to double check," he replied.

"Okay, double check, and if it works for you, call and invite him, and I'll make sure he goes," Lorelai said. "And see if you can get him to go to a baseball game or something sometime, too, will you? He's been busy with the house and with the baby, but he needs to get out and do some manly stuff before he goes insane, seriously."

John laughed. "Okay, got it - I'll try to lure him out of the house more often."

"Thank you." Lorelai nodded toward the direction of her house. "We better get going. It was good to see you."

"You, too. Tell Luke I said hi," John said. "And happy birthday again."

"Thanks," Lorelai replied. "See you later."

"Bye," Rory added.

As Lorelai and Rory walked away and continued toward the house, Lorelai let out a heavy sigh. "I can't even remember the last time Luke went out and did something fun for himself. He spends all his free time doing stuff for the house, or for me, or you, or Josh... what does he ever do for himself?"

"That's what he likes, though," Rory said with a shrug. "Making the people he loves happy... that's Luke. That's _always_ been Luke."

"I know, but it feels so uneven," Lorelai said. "He spoils us, he takes care of everything we need, he supports everything we do... and I don't know if we reciprocate enough."

"Okay, so, how do we start reciprocating better?"

"Well, baby steps," Lorelai said as she abruptly turned and headed toward Weston's. "Luke loves the raspberry iced tea from Weston's. Let's go get him some."

"Ooh, he also loves those peanut butter oatmeal cookies," Rory added. "We could get one of those, too."

Lorelai smiled. "Yes, good. See how thoughtful we can be when we try really hard?"

. . . . .

. . . . .

When Lorelai and Rory walked into the house, they heard Josh crying in the living room. They dropped their shopping bags in the foyer and walked toward the noise, and found Josh crying in Luke's arms on the couch.

"Is he okay?" Lorelai asked.

"I think so, he just woke up from his nap crying," Luke replied. "I changed him, but he's still upset."

Lorelai frowned and sat down next to him. She gently rubbed Josh's back. "Are you okay, baby?"

"Maybe another tooth?" Luke suggested.

Lorelai quickly nodded in agreement. "Yeah, maybe. I'll get him a teether from the fridge." She stood up from the couch and headed toward the kitchen.

Rory set the iced tea and bag from Weston's down on the coffee table. "We got you something," Rory told Luke. "Raspberry iced tea and a peanut butter oatmeal cookie, which don't exactly go together, but those were two things we knew you really liked, so..."

Luke smiled up at her, surprised. "That was nice... thanks."

Rory smiled. "You're welcome. I'm gonna go put my things away." She stopped in the foyer to grab her shopping bags and headed to her room.

Lorelai returned from the kitchen with a cold teething ring and sat back down next to Luke. She took Josh from him, sat him on her lap, and placed the teether to his lips. He immediately starting chewing on it and his whimpering subsided.

Lorelai looked at Luke warily. "Someone's in a new teething phase."

"Looks like it," Luke agreed. "Poor guy."

"You know, Sookie was mentioning we can make healthy homemade popsicles to help soothe his gums," Lorelai said. "I think it's really simple, too, like you just blend up some fruit and freeze it in a popsicle tray."

"We can try that, we have plenty of fruit in there," Luke said.

Lorelai heard a cell phone ring, and she called, "Rory, your cell!"

"I got it!" Rory confirmed, and she came out from her bedroom to grab her phone from the living room desk.

"Ooh, maybe it's your boyfriend," Lorelai teased in a singsong voice.

Rory smiled and stuck her tongue out at her, and glanced down at the phone. "You're wrong, it's Lane," she said, and she walked back toward her room as she answered the phone, "Hello?"

Lorelai's eyes fell on the coffee table. "Did Rory give you the treats we got you?"

"Yeah, thanks," Luke said, and he reached for the iced tea. "That was nice." He took a sip and then offered it to Lorelai, who also took a sip, and then he set the drink back on the coffee table.

"We ran into John while we were out," Lorelai said.

"Which John? My John?" Luke asked.

"No, John Mellencamp, he came to serenade me for my birthday," Lorelai replied.

Luke rolled his eyes. "I asked a simple question."

"Yes, your John," Lorelai replied. "He said to tell you hi, and he mentioned he asked you to go camping this weekend but you turned him down."

Luke nodded in confirmation. "I assumed there was some basic rule that you don't go away on your wife's birthday unless she's going with you."

Lorelai smiled. "That's correct, thank you. But I told him to call you and reschedule, and you are definitely going. You haven't been camping in forever, you never go fishing, you barely do anything you like anymore."

"I do what I like," he countered.

"No, you have been neglecting your hobbies and your friends, and you are going camping with John," Lorelai told him. "End of story. This is not open to a discussion."

Luke smirked. "You're _demanding_ that I go, I have no say in it?"

"Pretty much, yes," Lorelai replied. "You need to do things outside of work besides being a father and a husband... things for _you,_ things to help you relax _._ You need a balance of family time, friend time, and alone time, and if I don't force you, you won't do it. I know you."

"Well, what about you?" Luke countered. "It's not like you're running around doing a ton of non-family-related hobbies either."

"My hobbies are movies and television and eating, all of which I do constantly," she pointed out. "Plus, I spent 10 days in Europe... I think that counts as me doing something for myself."

"That was a special trip, but it's not like you regularly go out with Sookie or Miss Patty or Babette or anyone else to just relax and have fun," Luke said. "Your last night out alone was probably a town meeting, so if I'm going to be forced to do things with friends, so are you."

Lorelai smiled. "So, this will be a mutual forcing of fun?"

"Yup. It's only fair."

"Fine, but you have neglected your friends and hobbies much more than I have, so you're being forced first."

"Fine."

"Thank you," Lorelai said. She shifted Josh in her arms to get him more comfortable.

Rory walked into the living room and sat down in the armchair across from the couch. She looked back and forth from Luke to Lorelai. "So... I have some news," Rory said.

Lorelai raised an eyebrow. "Oh, yeah? What's up?"

"Well, Lane's band has a gig in Meriden on Thursday night, and she invited me to go."

"Oh, that's cool, good for them," Lorelai said. "Are you gonna go?"

"Yeah. And then I thought, well, the gig isn't far from here, maybe that's the type of event I was waiting for to have a non-stressful introduction," Rory said, referring to her conversation with Lorelai in the shoe store. "So I called Mark to see if he would wanna go with me, and he said yes, so I was thinking we could stop by here first to say hi before we go see the band."

Lorelai gasped. "Really?"

Rory nodded. "Yeah. Does that work for you guys? Will you be home Thursday night?"

"Yup," Lorelai said, and then she turned to Luke. "Hon, does that give you enough time to either purchase or borrow a shotgun for you to be cleaning when he walks in?"

"Plenty of time," Luke confirmed.

Rory covered her face with her hands. "Oh, geez."

"No, we'll be good, I promise," Lorelai assured her. "Best behavior."

"Will you be coming around dinner time?" Luke asked. "Should I make something?"

"We'll probably just grab some dinner at the gig, it's at some sort of restaurant with a bar area and stage," Rory replied. "But I'm sure we'll be up for some coffee."

"Okay, coffee it is," Lorelai replied, and then got a giddy smile on her face. "I'm excited. This is like another birthday present."

Rory smiled. "Yeah, I thought you'd be happy about it."

"Does he know you're stopping here?" Lorelai asked.

"Yeah, I mentioned it, he was on board," Rory replied. "He already knows you guys are cool and laid back and not intimidating, so... you know, try not to make a liar out of me."

Lorelai laughed. "We won't, I swear." She nudged Luke. "Right?"

Luke made a show of cracking his knuckles before he replied, "Yup. We'll be completely unintimidating."

Rory smiled and shook her head slightly. "Great, thanks." She exhaled a breath. "So, what's next on the birthday itinerary?"

"Well, we have a little while before Sookie gets here," Lorelai said, and nodded down at Josh. "And he seems like he might be going back to sleep soon, so it may be movie time."

"Okay." Rory stood up and walked over to the shelf of videos. "Anything in particular?"

" _Breakfast at Tiffany's_ ," Lorelai replied.

"Good choice," Rory said.

Luke stood up from the couch. "I'll go make some popcorn."

. . . . .

. . . . .

On Thursday evening, Lorelai and Luke were in the kitchen getting ready for Rory to stop by, while Josh sat on the floor playing with a couple of Tupperware containers. Lorelai was making coffee and Luke was putting some homemade cookies on a plate.

"I'm nervous, why am I nervous?" Lorelai asked. " _He's_ the one that should be nervous, not me."

"Are you worried you won't make a good impression?" Luke asked.

"No, I think I'm worried that _he_ won't," Lorelai replied. "And that I won't like him and Rory will get mad at me for not liking him."

"She won't get mad. She'll just encourage you to get to know him better," Luke said. "Plus, Rory has good judgment... I think if she likes him, we're probably gonna like him."

"Yeah, well, Rory liked Dean but that didn't stop _you_ from having reservations about him," Lorelai pointed out.

"I'm gonna have reservations about any guy she's with no matter what, especially now that she's in college," Luke said. "Those guys are after one thing and I dont trust 'em."

Lorelai smiled at him. "You really do wish you had a shotgun to be cleaning right now, don't you?"

"Kind of."

They heard the front door open, and they stared at each other for a second before they heard Rory call, "Mom?"

"Coming!" Lorelai picked up Josh from the floor, and the three of them walked to the foyer.

Rory was standing by the front door with a young man that Lorelai and Luke both gave a quick once-over. He stood just a few inches taller than Rory, with short brown hair and a friendly smile, and was casually dressed in jeans and a black t-shirt. He was carrying a small white box.

"Hey guys," Rory greeted them. "This is Mark."

Lorelai smiled warmly and offered her hand. "Hi, I'm Lorelai."

"Nice to meet you," Mark replied, shaking her hand.

"That's my mom, obviously," Rory said, and then she gestured to Luke. "And my stepfather, Luke."

"Luke Danes," Luke said, and he firmly shook Mark's hand. "How're you doing?"

"I'm good, thanks," Mark replied, and then he smiled at Josh in Lorelai's arms. "And this must be Josh, right?"

"It is," Lorelai replied, and then said to Josh, "Can you say hi? Say hi... you wanna say hi?" She looked at Mark. "Okay, he can't exactly say hi yet, so just pretend that he did."

Mark smiled. "Okay." He held up the small box he was holding. "I brought some chocolate espresso brownies from this great bakery near campus." He glanced at Rory and then back at Lorelai. "Someone mentioned you like caffeine and chocolate."

Lorelai smiled. " _Like_ is an understatement." She took the box from him. "They sound amazing, thanks."

"You're welcome," Mark replied.

"Here, I'll take that," Luke offered, taking the box from her. "Let's go sit in the kitchen."

"I just made some coffee," Lorelai said. "That'll go perfectly with those."

They walked to the kitchen. Lorelai put Josh in his high chair with some Cheerios, and the adults sat at the table with coffee and snacks.

After a few compliments exchanged about the food and some general discussion about their evening plans, Luke asked, "So, Mark, what are you studying?"

"I've been focusing on economics so far," he replied. "But next year I'm planning to go for the ethics, politics, and economics program because that's a good way to really learn a lot about all three fields."

"It's this special program at Yale you have to apply for in your sophomore year," Rory explained. "Only a certain number of people are accepted into the major."

"That sounds intense," Lorelai said.

"Oh, yeah, I've heard about that program," Luke said.

Lorelai narrowed her eyes at him. "You have?" she asked, surprised. "How?"

"They did a profile on some professor in the Yale Daily News a few weeks ago, and he was talking about it," Luke replied, and then he looked pointedly at Rory and added, "I read _all_ of the articles... your mom only reads yours."

"Hey, that's my way of protesting that she doesn't have more articles in there," Lorelai argued.

Rory smiled. "Yup, that'll show 'em... thanks."

"You're welcome," Lorelai replied, and she suddenly snapped her fingers. "Oh, I remembered something I wanted to ask you, Mark... do you have a track nickname?" Lorelai glanced over at Luke. "Because Luke did when he ran track back in the day, so I didn't know if that was a common thing."

Luke groaned slightly under his breath. "Geez."

Mark shook his head. "No, not that I'm aware of, unless the others are calling me one behind my back."

"Luke's nickname was Butch in high school," Rory told him. "And ever since my mom found that out, she has taken an unhealthy amount of delight in teasing him about it."

"Because I can't even picture Luke having _any_ sort of nickname, let alone one that reminds me of a Paul Newman movie," Lorelai pointed out. "Albeit a classic, but still... it just surprised me."

"I don't even remember where it came from or who started it," Luke said, and then looked pointedly at Lorelai. "But we can move on to a new subject, please."

"Sorry, no more teasing," Lorelai said, and then asked Rory, "Speaking of nicknames, did you tell him Rory's not your real name?"

"Yes, I did," Rory replied. "And he said it was the first time he'd met someone with the name Lorelai."

"That's true," Mark said. "Not my first time hearing it, but first time meeting one."

"We're a rare breed," Lorelai said, and before she could add more, Josh squealed and slapped his hands on his now-empty high chair tray, grabbing everyone's attention. "Oh, someone's feeling left out of the conversation. Are you ready to get out of that chair?" She stood up from the table to get a wet paper towel, and wiped Josh's face and hands. "What time do you guys have to leave?" she asked Rory.

"In a few minutes," Rory replied. She stood up from the chair and patted Mark's shoulder. "You wanna see the books before we go?"

"Oh, yeah, let's check 'em out," Mark said, standing up.

"He apparently thinks I'm exaggerating about the size of my collection," Rory told Luke and Lorelai.

"Trust me, she's not," Lorelai said as she lifted Josh from his high chair.

"It's right in here," Rory said, gesturing to her bedroom door. She opened it and Mark followed her through the doorway.

When they were out of sight, Luke looked at Lorelai and inhaled a sharp breath. "He's in her bedroom," he hissed. "Shouldn't one of us go in there with them?"

Lorelai smirked amusedly. "It's fine, hon," she said, and handed Josh to him. "Here, distract yourself with this."

Luke smiled at him. "Hi, buddy. You ready for bed? You look tired."

"He didnt have a long nap this afternoon, he'll probably go down early," Lorelai said. "We should go get him changed into pajamas."

Luke stood up with him, and then glanced toward Rory's bedroom. "I'll do it. You stay here."

Lorelai patted him on the back, urging him toward the living room. "Let's go," she said, and then called toward the bedroom, "We're going to the living room to change Josh."

"Okay, we'll be right out," Rory replied.

Luke cast an uneasy look toward Rory's bedroom, but obligingly went with Lorelai to the living room.

A few minutes later, Rory and Mark joined them, and Lorelai asked Mark, "Well, what did you think?"

"It's an impressive collection, for sure," Mark agreed.

"I told you I wasn't exaggerating," Rory said.

"I was sort of hoping your room would have floor to ceiling bookshelves with one of those rolling ladders you have to climb to get to the books on the top shelf, like in a library," Mark said, using his arms to mimic climbing a ladder. "That would've been _really_ impressive."

"You know, she begged for a room like that when she was ten years old," Lorelai told him. "I told her it would be cheaper to just go sleep in the town library."

"And I was all excited to go do that until you told me you were just kidding," Rory recalled.

Lorelai smiled. "Yeah, you started to pack an overnight bag and everything."

"I can definitely picture her doing that," Luke said, smiling.

"Ooh, you should see if any of the Yale libraries offer an overnight stay, you can finally live out your childhood dream," Lorelai suggested.

"I've grown out of that dream, thank you," Rory said. "I've removed it from my bucket list."

"Is that code for... you already checked on it with Yale and the answer was no?" Mark teased.

Rory grinned and nudged into him with her shoulder. "No, it's not." She glanced down at her watch. "Oh, we should go."

They walked to the foyer, and Luke extended a hand toward Mark. "Good to meet you," Luke said.

"You, too," he replied, and then shook Lorelai's hand. "Both of you." And then he looked at Josh nestled in Luke's arm and added, "You, too, little guy."

"Thanks for stopping by," Lorelai added. "Tell Lane I said break a leg."

"We will." Rory gave each of them a quick hug. "Bye, guys."

"Have fun," Lorelai said.

Rory pulled open the door, and she and Mark stepped out onto the porch. As they started to walk down the steps, Luke noticed the tan sedan in the driveway. "What kind of car is that, a Honda?" he asked from the doorway.

Mark turned around to answer him. "Yeah, it's my mom's old Accord," he replied. "She got a new car and this one was passed down to me. It's a few years old, but runs really well."

"Yeah, those are reliable if you take care of 'em," Luke said with a nod of approval. "Drive safe."

"We will. Goodnight," Rory replied, giving them a wave.

As they walked down the front porch steps, Lorelai closed the front door and looked at Luke. "Well, first thoughts?"

"He seems okay," Luke said.

"I like him," Lorelai said. "He was really nice."

"Yeah, he was, but of course he's gonna be on his best behavior when he's meeting the parents," Luke pointed out.

"True, but he came across as friendly without seeming suck-uppy or fake, you know?" Lorelai said. "And even though I wouldn't expect Rory to go for some preppy, pretentious dude, that's what I keep picturing all Yale guys to be like. But this guy wasn't... he was down to earth, polite, funny... he even has a normal name."

Luke narrowed his eyes. "As opposed to what?"

"You know, some rich-sounding name like Preston or Sterling or something," Lorelai replied, and then made a face. "I've never met a Preston that wasn't a jerk."

"And I've never met a Preston," Luke said.

"Consider yourself lucky," Lorelai said.

"They seem very comfortable with each other already," Luke remarked. "The way they interact and talk to each other. You notice that?"

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, I did. I think that's the benefit of starting out as friends," she said, and then gestured between the two of them. "Like us... we know how that goes. Friendship is a great base for a relationship."

"Yeah."

Lorelai looked at him for a moment. "So... in summary, our first impressions are positive?"

Luke shrugged. "Yeah, so far. He hasn't given me a reason to dislike him yet."

" _Yet_ ," Lorelai repeated with a laugh. "You're just waiting for him to screw up, huh?"

"Basically, yeah, because I know how guys are."

"Yes, I know how guys are, too, but I also know _Luke_ ," Lorelai said, poking him on the chest. "And _Luke_ is different from a lot of guys, which is an indication that not all guys are the same." She cocked her head to the side. "Right?"

"Yeah, I guess," Luke agreed, and then he leaned down to kiss the top of Josh's head. "Bedtime?"

Lorelai nodded. "Bedtime."

. . . . .

. . . . .

The following Sunday was Liz and TJ's Renaissance-themed wedding in the town square. After the ceremony, Luke, Lorelai, Rory, Josh, and Jess all posed for some family pictures with Liz and TJ.

There was a break between the ceremony and the reception. Rory went to visit Lane, Jess went back to his apartment with Liz and TJ so they could freshen up, and Lorelai and Luke brought Josh to Sookie and Jackson's house so they could watch him during the reception.

After Josh was settled, Luke and Lorelai started to walk across Sookie's yard to head back to the square, and then Luke suddenly stopped walking and checked his watch. "Wait, hold on."

Lorelai turned to face him. "What's wrong?"

"We don't have to rush back, the reception doesn't start for a little while," he said.

Lorelai glanced at Sookie's house. "What, do you wanna go back inside?"

Luke shook his head. "No... let's go home."

Lorelai narrowed her eyes. "Home?"

"Yeah, think about it... Rory's at Lane's, the baby's with Sookie... the house is empty. When's the last time we had the entire house to ourselves, just you and me?" He nodded toward Sookie's house behind them. "Everyone will just think we're still dropping him off. No one will think twice if we're not back right away."

Lorelai cocked her head to the side as a surprised smile appeared on her lips. "Luke Danes. Are you suggesting we leave your sister's wedding to go have sex?"

"No, I am suggesting we temporarily excuse ourselves during the break in my sister's wedding to go have some alone time," he corrected her. He stepped closer to her and ran his hands up and down the sides of her dress. "Because my wife looks _really_ good right now and I'd _really_ like to be alone with her."

Lorelai placed her hands against his chest beneath his suit jacket. "You mean, your wife _always_ looks good and you _always_ want to be alone with her."

Luke leaned in and kissed her gently. "Yes, exactly." He moved his lips to her neck and kissed it below her ear. "What do you say?" he murmured before pulling back from her.

Lorelai glanced toward the town square where people were still setting things up, transitioning from the ceremony to the reception. She brought her gaze back to him, and her hands moved up to cradle his neck.

He was looking at her hopefully, and she kept him in suspense for a few seconds before she finally gave him a smile and a nod. "Let's go. Short cut," she told him as she took his hand and led him toward the bushes on the side of Sookie's yard.

A few minutes later, they arrived at the house, both out of breath from jogging the whole way home.

As they closed the front door behind them, Luke pushed her up against it and pressed his lips against hers. She started pushing his suit jacket off as they kissed, knowing they didn't have much time. She blindly dropped it on the foyer table before moving her hands to the buttons on his shirt.

Luke's hand found the zipper on the back of her dress and pulled it down. "I have a special request," he muttered against her lips before kissing her again.

Lorelai pulled back a little and looked up into his eyes. "Oh, yeah? What is it?"

"I want you to be loud," he told her. "I can't remember the last time I heard you at full volume."

Lorelai smiled. Luke had always loved hearing her moans and groans in bed, they were a huge turn-on for him. But now they were always stifling themselves because either the baby was sleeping or Rory was home. "Probably Valentine's Day weekend at the inn. I remember being worried about the rooms next to us, but I think we were a little louder there than at home."

"A little bit," Luke agreed. He took her wrists in his hands and pressed them against the door, and leaned in to kiss her passionately. When he pulled back, both of them were panting for breath. "You gonna be extra loud for me today?"

"Depends on how good you are," she countered, a sly smile on her lips.

. . . . .

. . . . .

A little while later, when it was time for the reception to start, Rory left Lane's apartment and headed back to the square.

As she was making herself a plate of appetizers at the food table, Jess walked by the table and stopped when he saw her. "Hey, I'm getting a drink, you want something?" he asked her.

"Sure. I'll take a Coke, thanks," Rory replied.

When he returned a minute later with two cans of soda, he grumbled, "One of Liz's friends was just hitting on me and she's not even drunk yet. It's gonna be a long night."

Rory grinned. "You let her down nicely?"

"No, I bolted from her the second she turned to get a drink, so let's hope she doesn't track me down. Here." Jess handed her a soda, and then started piling some food for himself onto a plate.

They walked over to a table and sat down. "Where's Luke?" Jess asked.

Rory glanced around, looking for him. "I don't know. He and my mom took the baby over to Sookie's, they must not be back yet," Rory replied, and then she popped an appetizer into her mouth. "So, Luke said you might go visit your dad?"

Jess nodded as he bit into some food.

"You haven't seen him since you were little?"

Jess chewed his mouthful of food and then replied, "I don't know if I ever actually saw him or not. But yeah, he hasn't been around since I was a baby. No idea what he even looks like."

"It's good that he finally decided to reach out," Rory remarked. "Better late than never, right?"

Jess opened up his can of soda and took a sip. "That's what I thought, but Luke doesn't see it that way... he kind of freaked out when I told him."

Rory thought about that as she poked at the food on her plate for a moment, then she looked at Jess and said, "You know, Luke got into a yelling match with my dad once."

Jess raised an eyebrow. "Really? Why?"

"He hated that my dad would just wander into our lives whenever he felt like it," Rory said. "He wasn't consistent, he wasn't reliable, it was like he would show up when it was convenient for him and not care how it affected us. And if there's one thing we can say about Luke... he's protective of the people he cares about and wants them to be treated right."

"Yeah," Jess agreed.

"So maybe he's just worried that it'll be like that with you and your dad, that you won't be treated right," Rory continued.

"I told him he doesn't have to worry about that, I can handle it."

"Yeah, but Luke's still gonna worry." They ate in silence for a few seconds before Rory asked, "Are you nervous to meet him?"

"Not really," Jess replied. "If we get along, great; if not, no biggie."

Rory looked surprised. "Wow, you're more nonchalant about it than I would be, but it's probably a good way to go into it."

"Having low expectations is the best way to go into anything," Jess told her. "Little life tip for ya."

Rory smiled. "Thanks."

Miss Patty suddenly appeared in front of their table and leaned down in front of Rory. "Rory, honey, a little birdie told me you've got a new gentleman friend," she said in a singsong voice. "And that you brought him home to meet your mom and Luke."

Rory smirked. "Let me guess... is that birdie's name Babette?"

"I can't reveal my sources," Miss Patty replied. "But it was dark outside so the birdie couldn't get a good picture. I don't suppose this mystery gentleman will be making an appearance tonight at the reception, hmm?"

"Uh, no, he couldn't make it, sorry," Rory replied.

Miss Patty frowned. "Shame. Well, be sure to bring him around town sometime."

"I'm sure I will eventually," Rory told her.

As Miss Patty walked away, Rory looked at Jess. "Do you think she could tell that 'he couldn't make it' was code for 'I need to mentally prepare him more before I bring him to a town event'?"

Jess smirked. "Nah, she's oblivious."

"Okay, good." Rory saw some activity at the food tables. "They're starting to put out the main food, I think."

"Crap. I told Liz I'd help bring the turkey legs over from the diner," Jess said, and he stood up with a sigh. "I thought I had more time. I better go see if they need help."

"Okay."

Jess walked away, and Rory finished up her food. As she carried her plate to a trash can, she saw Luke and Lorelai approaching. "There you guys are," Rory said to them. "Everything okay with Josh?"

Lorelai quickly nodded. "Yup, he's fine, we took him over to Sookie's, and we knew we had some time before the reception, so... you know... we took our time getting him settled before heading back over."

Luke nodded in agreement. "Yup. Got him all settled at Sookie's... so he's over there, nice and settled." He rubbed his hands together and asked Lorelai, "You want a drink? I'll get us some drinks." He looked at Rory. "You need a drink, too? I can grab you a drink."

Rory gestured to the table she'd been sitting at. "I'm good... I have one over there, thanks."

"Okay. Be right back." He spun in a circle trying to figure out where the drinks were, and then walked away. "Drinks over here, got it."

Rory watched him walk off, and then smiled at Lorelai. "Is he okay? He seems very... relaxed."

"Oh, yeah, he's fine," Lorelai said, waving it off. "Just happy for Liz, you know how it is." She put her arm around Rory's shoulder. "Let's go sit."

They sat down and chatted while they waited for the food to be ready. Luke returned with drinks and appetizers, and Jess came to sit with them when he was done helping out.

When the buffet was ready, they all went to make their plates and sat back down at the table to eat. Liz and TJ made the rounds during dinner to greet their guests, and stopped at the table to chat with them for a few minutes.

When they were finished eating, Luke gathered the plates and went to throw them in the trash. Rory left to head back to Yale since she had an early class the next morning.

When Luke didn't return right away, Lorelai assumed he'd gotten caught up in a conversation with someone and she scanned the crowd for him. She saw him cornered by Crazy Carrie, who was running her hand along his arm and unsubtly pushing her cleavage as close to him as she could

Lorelai exhaled a sigh. "Do you see that?" she said to Jess, pointing toward Luke.

Jess followed the direction of her finger, and cringed when he saw the scene. "He should run. She was hitting on _me_ earlier."

Lorelai shook her head in disbelief. "Unbelievable. Excuse me."

She stood up from the table and headed over to Luke. He saw her coming and uncomfortably stepped back from Carrie. "Sorry, I got held up," he said to Lorelai.

"Yeah, I see that," Lorelai replied, and then calmly said to Carrie, "Seriously, woman to woman, I have to know... how are you possibly not tired of flirting with a man who has shown no interest in you for like 20 years? Because that's some intense dedication that I can't even wrap my mind around."

Carrie was clearly a little drunk, and she took a sip of her drink before she replied, "It's all about the long-game, sweetie."

"Meaning?" Lorelai prompted her.

"Eventually all men get tired of their wives and look for someone else to meet their needs, and they'll remember who was patiently waiting for them all along," Carrie said, and then tapped her thumb to her chest, pointing at herself.

"Okay, well, solid plan," Lorelai said, and then reached for Luke's hand. "Let's go dance."

As Lorelai started to pull him away, Carrie squeezed his bicep and breathily said, "Bye, Luke, see you around," before she licked her lips seductively.

Lorelai stepped between Luke and Carrie. "Oh, just so you know," Lorelai said to her, "if you were looking for Luke about half an hour ago so you could do your flirty thing and touch him and shove your chest in his face, and were wondering why you couldn't find him anywhere, it's because he was at home with me in our bed, naked, with _my_ chest in his face and _my_ hands all over his body, and it was pretty damn spectacular. If our windows had been open, you probably would've heard our moans from here." Lorelai shook her head slightly as she let out a soft, content sigh. "You can't even _begin_ to imagine how good he is in bed. Seriously, the things he does to me... _mind-blowing_." She leaned in a little closer and added, "And I don't wanna brag, but I do some pretty mind-blowing things to him, too, so he doesn't need you on standby, okay?" She pulled back and smiled brightly. "Have a good night."

Lorelai spun around before she could even see Carrie's reaction, and started pulling Luke to the dance floor.

Luke was shocked. His eyes were wide and there was a smirk on his lips as he looked at Lorelai. "That was kind of hot."

Lorelai smiled. "That wasn't what I was going for, but thanks." She placed one hand on his shoulder and he placed one on her back. As their free hands clasped together, they started slow-dancing.

Luke was still smirking at her. "Was that some building jealousy finally coming to fruition?"

"No. It was building annoyance that finally came to fruition. It's ridiculous that we can't go to any of these events without her trying to seduce you. And we don't get many date nights, so I'm not gonna spend one of them watching her shove her boobs in your face."

Luke cocked his head to the side. "But there was a little bit of jealousy mixed in, right?"

Lorelai shook her head amusedly, and then admitted, "I don't know, maybe a little. If there was a guy who constantly flirted with me in front of you, I'm sure you'd feel the same way."

"Probably," he agreed, and then he leaned in to kiss her. "And I wouldn't be satisfied with just calmly telling him off, so you handled it better than I would have."

They stayed out on the dance floor for a few slow songs before deciding to take a break. They walked off the floor and sat down on a bench.

Luke noticed goosebumps on her arms and immediately took off his suit jacket. He held it open behind her back. "Here," he said, and she smiled as she slipped her arms into the sleeves.

"Thanks," she said, pulling the jacket tight around her. She moved closer to him and rested her head against his shoulder, and he put his arm around her. "This is nice."

"Yeah." He kissed the top of her head. "It's been a fun day."

"The wedding was interesting... unique, but beautiful, and sweet," Lorelai said. "They seem happy."

"Yeah, they do," he agreed, and he squinted into the distance. "And I don't think you have to worry about Carrie anymore tonight... she's over there getting handsy with some other guy."

Lorelai looked up at him and then followed his gaze. "I think that's the minister."

Luke looked again. "Oh, yeah." He glanced in the other direction and saw Liz and TJ walking toward them. "Hey, guys."

"Hey. We're getting ready to cut the cake," Liz told them, and then she playfully nudged Luke's shoulder with her fist. "But I heard you guys already had dessert, and it was pretty delicious, if you know what I mean."

Luke shared a confused look with Lorelai, then looked at Liz. "No idea what you mean."

"Carrie said that Lorelai told her you snuck off earlier to attend to some personal business," Liz said, giving them a sly smile. "Except she used much cruder words."

"I gotta tell you, I'm a little jealous," TJ said. "I wanted to do that same thing between the ceremony and the reception, but Lizzie told me it wouldn't be appropriate."

Liz slapped his arm. "We were in Jess' apartment! That's creepy. We're not doing that in my son's place."

Luke groaned and rubbed his temple. "Look, Lorelai was just kidding about that."

"Yeah, I was just trying to get her to stop flirting with Luke, that's all," Lorelai said.

TJ eyed her carefully. "Are you sure? Because your hair definitely looks different than it did earlier, like it got a little mussed."

Lorelai quickly ran her hand down the back of her hair, then quietly asked Luke, "Is my hair mussed?"

"No, it's fine," Luke replied, and then told Liz, "We took the baby over to Sookie's house after the ceremony and got him settled, and now here we are, back at the party enjoying ourselves. We were just joking with Carrie."

"She was drunk, she probably didn't realize it was a joke," Lorelai added.

"Yup, very drunk," Luke agreed.

Liz was smiling. "Hey, it's no big deal. I don't care if you did or didn't sneak off. You can go ahead and sneak off _again_ if you want, that's your business." She wagged her finger at both of them. "Just make sure to say goodbye before you leave for good."

"We will," Luke told her.

"We're gonna go get ready to cut the cake," Liz said. "Come over to the cake table in a few minutes."

"Okay," Lorelai replied.

As Liz and TJ walked away, Lorelai and Luke looked at each other. She wrinkled her nose apologetically. "Sorry. I didn't think that would spread around. I should've known better."

Luke was smiling as he shrugged it off. "It's okay."

Lorelai looked surprised by his nonchalant reaction. "The Luke Danes I know usually gets mortified when I imply to anyone that we have sexual relations in our marriage, and now suddenly it's okay? Does this mean I can start bragging about your bedroom skills in public more often?"

"No, it doesn't," he said firmly. "You get a free pass this time because, like I said, it was hot, and also... she deserved it."

Lorelai smiled. "So I can only imply sexual relations when I'm taking down a flirty trollop, got it."

"Yup, that's the rule." Luke leaned in to kiss her, and then added, "And by the way, I agree with what you said... it _was_ spectacular, and you _are_ a mind-blowing partner."

Lorelai smiled against his lips before kissing him again. "Why, thank you."

"You're welcome."

Lorelai put her hand on his knee. "Okay, game plan... let's have some cake, another drink, mingle a little, squeeze in another dance or two, say goodbye to people, and then go pick up the boy and head home."

"Sounds good." They stood up, held hands, and started walking toward the cake table.

. . . . .

. . . . .

 **To be continued...**

 _ **Author's Note:**_ _Just to give you a better idea of where this story is going,_ _I'd like to follow Luke and Lorelai over the course of a decade or two, so it_ _will continue a little more at this current pace, and then will eventually start jumping forward._

 _I apologize that it's taking longer than I'd like to post new chapters due to work/life getting in the way, but I am thankful for those of you still following along! Feedback is appreciated. :)_


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

. . . . .

. . . . .

The following weekend, Luke was out running some errands while Lorelai was at home with Josh. As Luke pulled up in front of the hardware store, his cell phone rang and he pulled it out of his pocket.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Hey, it's me," Lorelai greeted him. "Are you still in town?"

"Yeah. I went to the bank and the post office, I dropped your clothes off at the cleaners, and now I'm heading into the hardware store," Luke replied as he got out of the car. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, we're good," Lorelai replied. "But I wanted to remind you that we need some more outlet covers because Mr. Crawlypants is starting to find ones we didn't think he'd find."

"He's an explorer, that kid," Luke said. "Okay, I'll pick up another pack."

"Also, can you stop at the pharmacy and pick me up some Benadryl or Claritin or something? My allergies are acting up and we're fresh out of medicinals."

"Okay."

"You can stick a bow on it and call it an early Mother's Day present if you haven't gotten me anything yet."

"Mother's Day is tomorrow... you _really_ think I haven't gotten anything yet?"

Lorelai hummed intriguingly and glanced around the living room. "Oh, you did, huh? Is it hidden somewhere in the house?"

Luke smiled. "Don't snoop. I'll be home in a little while," he said, and then added, "With a non-gift-wrapped box of medicine."

Lorelai smiled. "Bye."

"Bye."

Luke spent some time at the hardware store picking up some things he needed, and then he drove over to the pharmacy. He walked inside and headed toward the shelf of allergy medicines.

"Hey, Marshall," Luke called to the pharmacist stationed behind the counter.

"Hey, Luke," Marshall replied. "You keeping the town well-fed?"

Luke smiled. "I'm trying."

Marshall had been a friend of Luke's father and had known him his whole life. With his head of white hair, white mustache, and black-rimmed glasses, Lorelai liked to jokingly refer to him as Colonel Sanders.

Luke grabbed a box from the shelf and walked over to the register. "How have you been?"

"Not too bad," Marshall replied. "How's your little one?"

"He's great, but he doesn't seem so little anymore," Luke replied, smiling. "He's gonna be a year old soon."

"They grow up fast," Marshall said, and then he pulled a plastic tub out from beneath the counter. "I have Lorelai's prescription here."

Luke narrowed his eyes. "Oh, yeah? She didn't mention that, she just asked for allergy stuff."

"Maybe she forgot about it. I forget things all the time." Marshall slowly flipped through the white prescription bags and then lifted one from the tub. "Ah, here it is." He handed the bag to Luke.

Luke curiously peeked into the bag, and he immediately recognized the circular compact. His heart started to race and he lifted his head from the bag to look at Marshall. "Wait, this is... these are... aren't these for..." he stammered.

"It's an oral contraceptive," Marshall supplied.

Luke inhaled sharply and quickly exhaled his deep breath. "So... when did she drop off the prescription?"

"Came in on Wednesday, I believe," Marshall said. "I wasn't here when it was dropped off, so I'm not sure what time."

Luke swallowed hard and looked down at the bag with confusion. "Huh."

. . . . .

. . . . .

Ten minutes later, Luke arrived home and walked into the living room, and Lorelai immediately greeted him from the couch with a whispered, "Shh, he just fell asleep." She smiled and gestured to the floor in front of the coffee table. "He was playing and just suddenly conked right out."

Luke looked down at Josh sprawled on the floor surrounded by toys, and then glanced back at Lorelai. "I need to talk to you about something," he said quietly, and he walked toward the kitchen before she could even respond.

Lorelai narrowed her eyes. "Uh, okay." She stood up and slowly followed him to the kitchen. "What's up?"

Luke placed the bag from the pharmacy on the table, and then leaned back against the counter next to the sink. "Did you change your mind?" he asked her.

"About what?"

"About having another kid."

Confusion instantly washed over Lorelai's face. "What?"

"You would tell me if you did, right?" Luke asked her indignantly. "Or would you just send me off to the pharmacy hoping I'd find out on my own without you having to tell me yourself?"

Lorelai shook her head in frustrated disbelief. "Luke, what are you talking about?"

"This is what I'm talking about," Luke said, and he walked over to the table and emptied the contents of the bag on the table. He picked up the white prescription bag and held it up. "Your prescription was ready at the pharmacy... your _birth control_ prescription."

Lorelai looked even more confused now. "I didn't have any prescriptions at the pharmacy."

"It has your name on it," Luke told her.

Lorelai walked over and took the bag from him. "Okay, then maybe it's an old one I forgot to pick up."

"He said the prescription was dropped off on Wednesday," Luke said.

"Well, it sure as hell wasn't me who dropped it off." Lorelai examined the label on the bag. "Okay, first of all, my prescriptions say Lorelai Gilmore Danes now, this just says Lorelai _Gilmore_. And second of all, this isn't my doctor, so - " Lorelai's voice suddenly trailed off and she slowly lifted her head to look at Luke with wide eyes. "Oh."

Luke stared back at her for a moment, and then almost simultaneously, they both looked toward Rory's bedroom door.

"Wow." Lorelai exhaled a deep breath. "I need to sit down."

"I need a drink," Luke said, and he grabbed a beer from the fridge.

Lorelai sat down at the table and Luke sat across from her. He opened the beer and took a long sip, and then offered her the bottle. She took an equally long sip, placed it down on the table between them, and then stared down at the bag.

"You didn't know anything about this?" Luke asked her.

Lorelai shook her head. "She hasn't mentioned it yet. Maybe she was waiting to bring it up this weekend. Maybe my Mother's Day card is gonna say something like, _Roses are red, life is complex, Happy Mother's Day, let's talk about sex."_

Luke smirked. "Yeah, maybe." He exhaled a deep breath. "I'm in shock right now."

Lorelai thought for a moment. "That explains the random surprise visit on Wednesday when she brought home some boxes from her dorm."

"Yeah. She came into the diner that day, too... she probably had just come from the pharmacy."

Lorelai tapped her fingers against the table for a few seconds. Finally, she shrugged and calmly said, "Okay, we just have to look at the big picture here. This is good, you know? It's a good thing."

"How the hell is it a good thing?" Luke asked incredulously. "She just met this guy and she's already at this step? Doesn't it seem fast? She was with Dean for _years_ and didn't get to this step!"

"She's known him for months, she didn't just meet him," Lorelai reminded him. "And it's not up to you or me to tell her when she's ready for that step, Luke... it's up to her."

"I know that, but what if he's pressuring her?" Luke asked, and he sucked in a deep breath through his tightly clenched teeth. "I swear to God - "

"Rory's not gonna let anyone pressure her into anything," Lorelai interrupted. "She's smart and she makes her own decisions, and if she realized she might be ready to take this step and her first move was to go get this..." she said, holding up the prescription, "then that's a damn good thing."

"I guess," Luke muttered. "It's still terrifying."

"Of course it is," Lorelai agreed. "But it's a part of life, we knew she was gonna get there eventually. Yeah, we hoped it would be when she was 30, but still... it could've been worse. She could've taken after me."

Luke's face suddenly tensed up as he realized maybe getting the prescription _wasn't_ her first step. "You don't think they could've done something already, do you? And now she's just getting covered for... you know... _future_ occurrences?"

The thought briefly sent Lorelai's heart racing, but she quickly shook it off. "No, no way," she said, shaking her head. "She would tell me if it had happened already, one hundred percent. My gut is telling me she's preparing."

"Okay," Luke replied. "I trust your gut." They stared at each other for a moment, both of their heads spinning a little. "So... what are you gonna do? I assume you wanna handle this one yourself?"

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah. When she gets here later, I'm gonna tell her I have it, but I'm not mentioning it was _you_ who picked it up, that will mortify her."

Luke took another sip of beer and then handed it back to her. "What are you gonna say to her?"

"Well, let's see... I can do what my parents did and desperately try to convince her that sex is wrong in the hopes of talking her out of it for life, with or without the assistance of priests," Lorelai said. "Or I can just be supportive and let her know that I'm here if she needs me or has any questions."

"Which option are you leaning towards?" Luke asked with a straight face, and then his lips slowly curved into a smile to show that he was just kidding.

Lorelai smiled and then exhaled a heavy sigh. "Man. She's growing up, huh?"

"Yes, she is."

Lorelai lifted up the beer, and before bringing it to her lips, she said, "Now I have a major bone to pick with you."

"What, why?"

Lorelai took a sip and set the bottle down on the table. She leaned back in her chair and folded her arms across her chest. "You, Luke Danes, actually thought that your wife had not only changed her mind about wanting to procreate with you again, but also decided _not_ to tell you that she'd changed her mind... and _then_ sent you to the pharmacy as a ploy in the hopes you'd find out from _Colonel Sanders_ that I'd changed my mind." She leaned forward and raised her hands in confusion. "And to that I say... _what the hell, dude_?"

Luke shook his head. "No, that's not true, that's not what happened."

Lorelai scoffed. "It's absolutely true," she insisted. "You came home visibly angry and accused me of doing something horrible."

"I did not accuse you, I _asked_ ," Luke said firmly. "And - "

"You asked in an accusing way," Lorelai interjected.

"And I wasn't angry, I was confused," he continued. "I didn't even consider the idea that it might be Rory's... all I knew was that there were birth control pills for Lorelai, and - "

"And you just assumed it was the same woman you married and are currently trying to impregnate," Lorelai finished.

Luke closed his eyes and rubbed his face with his hands. He opened his eyes and reluctantly admitted, "Yes."

"You didn't stop to think that it could have been some kind of a mix up or any other possible scenario... your mind just went right to 'my wife's doing something evil and manipulative behind my back.'" She batted her eyelashes at him and smiled brightly. "Is that pretty much it, honey?"

Luke felt horrible about how he'd handled things. "I'm sorry, okay? I am. I didn't even have time to think about it and realize how crazy it all sounded, I just _reacted_ and came home to ask you about it. I was caught off guard, okay? I'm sorry."

Lorelai nodded understandingly. "I know, I get it, I'll cut you some slack," she told him. "And you do get points for bringing it up right away instead of letting your anger towards me build up for days until you exploded."

"I wasn't angry," he reiterated. "And for the record, I wouldn't be mad at you if you changed your mind about things. I would just want you to tell me, obviously."

"I'm not changing my mind," Lorelai told him.

"Okay. Me, either."

"Good."

"Great."

Lorelai smiled at him. "All righty, then."

Luke stood up and walked over to her. "You sure you're not mad?"

"I'm not mad," Lorelai assured him.

"You sure you accept my apology?"

"I accept your apology," she confirmed.

"Okay. Well, if we're good - "

"We are," she interjected.

" - then I'm gonna go work in the garage," Luke finished. "I picked up some shelves at the hardware store. I'm gonna go install them, give us some more storage space out there."

"Okay."

He leaned down to kiss her. "Come get me if you need me."

"Will do." She patted him on the chest. "And come talk to me if you think I'm doing something else horrible behind your back."

Luke smirked. "Will do."

After Luke left through the back door, Lorelai walked into Rory's bedroom and tucked the prescription bag into her nightstand drawer.

. . . . .

. . . . .

An hour later, Rory pulled up in front of the house, and Luke walked out of the garage to greet her. She climbed out of the car and said, "Hey, Luke."

"Hey. You need any help?" he asked, gesturing to the trunk. "Did you bring more stuff from your dorm?"

"Yeah, I could use some muscles, thanks," Rory replied.

They walked to the trunk of the car, where Rory grabbed her laundry bag and Luke grabbed a cardboard box. They headed into the house, and Luke carried the box to her room and put it on her bed. Rory dropped her laundry bag by the back door.

"I'll go grab the other box from the car," Luke said. "Your mom must be upstairs with Josh."

"Okay, I'll go find her. Thanks for the help."

"Anytime."

Luke headed back outside, and Rory started up the staircase. She reached the top of the stairs and saw Lorelai at the changing table in the nursery. "Hey, Mom," Rory said.

Lorelai looked over at her and smiled. "Hey." She finished putting on Josh's shorts and lifted him up. "We just had an impromptu bath because someone had mud up his back."

Rory narrowed her eyes with confusion. "Was he playing outside in the mud?"

"No, I'm using the word mud as a less-disgusting substitute for what he actually had all over his back, which was similar in color and consistency."

Rory made a face. "Ugh. Got it. Gross."

"He's all clean now and smells like baby again," Lorelai said. "We were gonna play up here for a little while... wanna join us?"

"Sure."

"Okay. Close the door or he'll try to escape."

Rory closed the door, and then they sat on the floor with Josh. Lorelai pulled a few toys out of his toy box and set them in front of him, and he started crawling around and playing with them.

Rory heard banging coming from outside and glanced toward the window. "What's Luke doing out there? Building something?"

"He's putting more shelves in the garage," Lorelai replied. "Before the remodel starts, we're gonna have to take almost all of the stuff that's up here and put it somewhere else temporarily, so he's trying to make more storage room out there."

"It's starting soon, right? The remodel?"

"Two weeks," Lorelai replied. "And the house is probably going to be a mess for a few months, so be prepared."

"Months?" Rory asked, her eyes widening. "Really?"

Lorelai nodded. " _Months_. Our living room is going to transform into a bedroom for the summer... ours _and_ Josh's. It's going to be a disaster. I don't know how we're going to function."

Rory shrugged nonchalantly. "So we'll be getting extra cozy on the first floor for a few months, no big deal," she said calmly. "It'll go fast, summers usually do, and it'll definitely be worth it in the end when you have your beautifully renovated upstairs to move back into, right?"

Lorelai smiled at her. "Look at you, smoothly calming your mama down."

Rory smiled. "Years of practice."

Lorelai nodded in agreement, and then, after internally debating on how to casually bring up the topic that had been weighing on her for the past hour, asked, "So... did you bring home some more stuff from school?"

"Yup, two more boxes," Rory replied.

"Wow, so the dorm room must be getting pretty empty now," Lorelai said.

"Yeah, there's not much left."

"You know, it was smart that you made that extra trip on Wednesday to bring home some boxes," Lorelai casually said.

"Yeah, I guess," Rory replied with a shrug. She distractedly helped Josh turn on one of his musical toys, and then added, "My afternoon class was canceled, so it made sense to use the time wisely."

"Did you stop anywhere else when you were in town on Wednesday?" Lorelai asked.

Rory thought for a moment. "Uh, yeah. I stopped at the diner to see Lane. Remember, Luke gave me some donuts to bring home?"

Lorelai nodded. "Oh, yeah, right, I remember." She looked down at Josh for a few seconds, and then looked back at Rory. "Did you also make a quick stop at the pharmacy?"

Rory looked down and fidgeted with her hands. "Uh, maybe."

Lorelai watched her for a minute, waiting for her to say more. When she didn't, Lorelai offered, "Colonel Sanders accidentally gave me your prescription."

Rory was still staring down at her hands. "Oh."

"Which I'm sure is some sort of pharmacy violation, but he's older and he doesn't see you very often, so he probably forgot there's another Lorelai Gilmore in the world besides me."

"Right." Rory lifted her head to look at Lorelai and nibbled on her bottom lip for a moment. "Are you mad?"

Lorelai shook her head. "No, not mad. Just surprised you didn't mention it."

"I was going to, I was waiting for the right moment," Rory told her. "I was gonna tell you on Wednesday, but you were talking about how Josh was cranky all afternoon and I felt bad just throwing that big news at you after you had a long day."

Lorelai frowned. "You can throw _any_ news at me _any_ time, you know that."

"I know, but it wasn't urgent and I knew I'd be back home again this weekend, so I just decided to wait. I promise, I was going to tell you. I didn't think you'd find out before I told you myself, I'm sorry."

Lorelai nodded understandingly. "Okay, so... fill me in."

"Nothing's happened yet," Rory told her, shaking her head. "We haven't even talked about it, but I just thought it would be good to be prepared in case we do get to that point. So I went to the doctor for a physical and got the prescription, and... that's that."

"Good, that's smart," Lorelai said with a supportive nod. "You're an adult, you're responsible, and that's exactly what you should be doing... making smart decisions and being prepared. I'm proud of you."

"Thanks." Rory eyed her for a moment. "What else? I know there's more you want to say."

Lorelai hesitated before confirming, "Well, maybe a little..."

Rory smiled. "Go ahead."

Lorelai took a deep breath and clasped her hands together. "Dating as an adult can be complicated, hon. You might feel more pressure to do things because you think as an adult that you're _supposed_ to do those things. But I just want to make sure you know that you don't have to take that step with someone if you don't want to."

"I know, Mom."

"I know you like this guy, and you may very well _want_ to take this step with him, and that's fine," Lorelai continued. "But on the other hand, maybe you feel like _he's_ going to want to take that step soon and you think you _should_ be ready... even if you actually aren't quite there yet."

"That's not it," Rory interjected.

"But if you're not ready, you don't have to force yourself to be ready for his sake," Lorelai quickly continued. "And if any guy doesn't respect that, he doesn't respect _you_."

"Mom, seriously, I know," Rory assured her. "I'm not gonna do something because I think I _should_ , I'll do it because I _want_ to, okay? Trust me."

"I do trust you," Lorelai told her, and then reached out to squeeze Rory's hand. "A lot. You know that, right?"

"I know," Rory confirmed. "And I will keep you in the loop if things progress in a certain direction."

"Promise?"

"Yes."

"Okay," Lorelai said. "And you can ask me things if you have questions, you know? You've always been able to talk to me about anything... I don't want you to feel weird talking to me about this stuff."

"I don't feel weird. If I have questions, I know where to go."

"Okay, good." Lorelai exhaled a deep breath. "It's just... this is a big thing, you know?"

"I know."

"For _both_ of us," she added.

Rory smiled and reached over to put her hands on Lorelai's knees. "Yes, I know this is probably very traumatic for you and a lot is going through your head right now. But I promise you there's nothing to worry about. It'll be okay... we'll get through it."

Lorelai smirked. "Seriously, you're so good at calming Mama down." She glanced over at Josh. "Take notes, kid."

"I'll teach him," Rory promised. "He'll become a Lorelai-whisperer like me."

Lorelai smiled. "Thank you."

. . . . .

. . . . .

On Wednesday evening, Luke and Lorelai took Josh for a walk before dinner. When they reached the end of the street and turned the corner, they saw a moving van parked down the street.

"Ooh, looks like someone's finally moving into the Anderson house," Lorelai said, intrigued. "Fresh blood. This is exciting town news!"

"Yeah, I'm surprised nobody's covering this for the Gazette," Luke said dryly.

"I'm sure East Side Tillie's already got her feelers out for information," Lorelai said. "Let's go meet them."

"We shouldn't bother them when they're moving in," Luke said. "We can come back another day when they're settled."

"But we have an excuse to leave right away," Lorelai said. "We introduce ourselves, welcome them to town, then say 'well, we'll let you get settled, see you around' and head off on our merry way."

"All right, fine, but we're only stopping if they're outside," Luke said. "We're not walking up to the door or anything."

"Okay."

They walked slowly down the street, and as they approached the house, they saw movers carrying some furniture into the house. They also saw a blonde woman trying to remove the packing tape from a box on the driveway. "I have no idea what's in here," she said out loud. "Why didn't we label all of the boxes?"

"Because we're masochists who were purposely trying to make moving harder for ourselves," a man replied from the garage. As he stepped out of the garage, he saw Luke and Lorelai. "Oh... hi, there."

The woman followed the man's gaze to the couple standing by their driveway. "Oh, hi," she said, standing up.

"Sorry, we didn't mean to bother you," Lorelai said, giving them a wave. "Just wanted to say hello."

The couple walked toward the end of the driveway. "You can say more than that, we don't bite," the man said, and he extended his hand toward Luke. "Eric Thompson. This is my wife, Kelly."

"Luke Danes," Luke replied. He shook his hand and then Kelly's, and then put his hand on Lorelai's back. "My wife, Lorelai."

Lorelai shook their hands, and then nodded toward the stroller. "That's Josh. He doesn't shake hands yet, don't be offended."

"He's adorable," Kelly said, smiling down at him. "How old?"

"He'll be ten months next week," Lorelai replied.

"We have a daughter, Jenna... she's 9," Kelly said. "She's with her grandparents today."

"She's not especially helpful with moving heavy boxes and furniture," Eric said. "So we've banned her from the house for the day."

"Smart move," Lorelai said.

"So, this may be a stupid question because there are probably multiple Lukes in town," Kelly said. "But are you somehow connected to Luke's Diner?"

"I am," Luke confirmed. "I own it."

"Oh, cool. We've driven through town a few times trying to get the lay of the land, so we've seen it," Kelly said. "Haven't had a chance to eat there yet, but we'll definitely check it out."

"Best coffee in town," Lorelai said. "If caffeinating is your thing."

"Isn't it everyone's thing?" Eric joked.

"It should be," Lorelai declared.

"Where are you guys from?" Luke asked.

Lorelai eyed their blonde hair and blue eyes. "I would wager a guess it's either Sweden or California."

"Good guesses, very close," Eric said. "But we actually hail from Portland, Maine, which - fun fact - is the birthplace of Judd Nelson."

"I've told you, it's not that fun of a fact," Kelly said to him, patting him on the back. "Not everyone knows who that is."

"But the people who do know get excited because he's _John Bender_ ," Eric said to her. "By the end, everyone is rooting for John Bender."

"It's true, I root for John Bender," Lorelai agreed, and then she tapped Luke on the arm, adding, "And Luke does, too, he just doesn't remember his name."

"Are we talking about a movie right now?" Luke asked, his eyes narrowed.

"I'll remind you who he is later," she said to him. "We should let them get back to unpacking."

Luke nodded in agreement. "Yeah, we won't take up anymore of your time."

"If you need anything, we're right around the corner on Maple," Lorelai added, pointing down the street. "Blue house. Jeep out front. Lots of shoes and purses inside. Can't miss it."

Kelly smiled. "Thanks. Nice to meet you."

"You, too," Luke replied. "We'll see you around."

"Take care," Eric said.

As they pushed the stroller down the street, Lorelai said, "They seem normal... friendly..."

"Yeah," Luke agreed.

"And very blonde," Lorelai added. "I think they may be surfers."

"Because of the blonde hair?" Luke asked with a smirk. "That doesn't make someone a surfer. Babette's blonde."

"And I bet she has some good surfer stories!"

"How old do you think they are?" Luke asked.

"The new people or Babette's surfer stories?"

"The new people. What do you think, forty?"

"Late 30s, early 40s," Lorelai replied, and then she peeked into the stroller and said, "I think he's about to take a pre-dinner power nap. Maybe we should join him."

"I should start getting my stuff together for Friday," Luke said. "Gotta make sure all the camping gear is washed and ready to go."

"Oh, yeah, we should do that," she agreed.

"I can do it," Luke said. "You can take a quick nap if you want."

"No, I wanna help," Lorelai offered. "I wanna make sure you have everything you need for your two-day camping extravaganza, during which time you will have loads of fun with your buddies and not worry about what's going on at home." She looked at him pointedly. "Right?"

Luke smirked. "Right."

"You're not going to be distracted during this much-needed break thinking about how there are things you could be doing around the house because there are going to be things to do around the house for the _rest of our lives,"_ Lorelai told him. "So we can't plan our fun around that."

"I know, I get it. I agreed to the mutually forced fun, and I'm going to enjoy myself. Or at least, try."

"Good."

"You're next, though," Luke said. "You're pushing me to have friend time, I'm gonna push you to have friend time right back."

"Yes, sir."

"Maybe one night Jackson and I could hang out with the boys, and the girls could go out together somewhere," he suggested.

Lorelai smiled. "Yeah, that would be nice."

As they were approaching their house, they saw Babette out getting her mail. "Hey guys!" she called, and walked over to them. "What are you up to?"

Lorelai pointed to the stroller and quietly said, "He fell asleep, so we're gonna go through Luke's camping gear and make sure he has everything he needs for his camping trip this weekend."

Babette looked disappointedly between her and Luke. " _That's_ what you two do when you get some time alone? Geez. You guys really need to go on a date or something, get that spark back."

"Thanks for the suggestion," Luke said dryly.

"Oh, hey, did you see the new people moving in around the corner?" Babette asked them.

"Yeah, we just met them," Lorelai replied. "Got any scoop yet?"

Babette nodded. "We did some investigating this afternoon and got a little dish, but I'm waiting for Patty to call me back with more."

"What do you have so far?" Lorelai asked.

"Well, they moved here from Maine to be closer to her parents, who moved to Woodbury a few years back," Babette said. "But they didn't wanna be _too_ close, so they picked a different town."

"Relatable," Lorelai interjected.

"The wife landed a big marketing job for some company in Hartford, and the husband is a teacher, I think," Babette continued. "He doesn't have a job around here yet, as far as we know."

Lorelai nodded. "Okay, good, this is all good information and everything, but quick question... did any of your research on them reveal any history of surfing, either competitively or recreationally?" she asked. "Think hard."

"When exactly did you become so fascinated with surfing?" Luke asked amusedly.

Lorelai looked at him and scoffed. "Uh, duh... like most people, in the early 90s watching _Point Break_ with Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves."

"No, nothing about surfing," Babette replied. "But I'll keep you posted if I find out more."

"Thanks."

"I'll see you two later," Babette said, and then she shook her finger at them. "And really, you should spend your free time more wisely."

Lorelai smiled. "We'll try. Bye, Babette."

. . . . .

. . . . .

On Friday night, Lorelai rang the doorbell of her parents' house, and when Emily opened the door, she greeted her with, "You're late."

Lorelai stepped into the house. "Good to see you, too, Mom." Lorelai put the carseat and diaper bag down on the floor. "Whew, that's a workout just carrying him in from the car."

"No Luke tonight?" Emily asked.

"No, it's just me and the boy tonight," Lorelai replied.

"And me," Rory added as she walked out from the living room. "Hi, Mom."

"Hey, kid," Lorelai replied. "Can you grab the bag?"

"Yup."

Rory grabbed the diaper bag, and she and Emily followed Lorelai to the living room. Lorelai put the carseat down next to the arm chair, and then sat in the chair to unbuckle Josh.

Lorelai lifted him from the seat and sat him on her lap, and then glanced around the room. "Where's Dad?"

"He's in the study finishing up a call," Emily replied.

Lorelai gasped. "So _I'm_ not late, _Dad's_ late."

"You're technically both late," Rory pointed out.

"Okay, well, he's later than I am, so I win," Lorelai said. She shifted Josh on her lap to get more comfortable. "What excitement did I miss with my unfortunate lateness?"

"You missed a round of hot appetizers," Rory replied. "Too bad you were late, they were really good. Grandma decided to go outside of the box this time with some homemade mozzarella sticks."

Lorelai smiled. "Very funny, but the joke's on you. My nose can pick up the lingering scent of mozzarella sticks for days after their existence, and I am getting no hint of them."

"Yes, that's quite a skill, we're very proud," Emily said dryly. "Care for a drink?"

"Martini, please," Lorelai replied, and then she looked at Rory. "So, I missed nothing so far?"

"You missed me talking about how my last final is tomorrow," Rory replied. "And that's about it."

"You ready for it?"

"Yeah, it should be an easy one, it just stinks that it's on Saturday," Rory replied. "And then I have to finish packing up my room after that."

Emily walked over and handed Lorelai her drink. "What time did you say your exam is?"

"It starts at ten," Rory replied.

"And it'll take a couple of hours, I suppose?" Emily asked.

"Probably," Rory replied.

"And then you'll just be packing up your room?" Emily asked.

"Yup."

"Did you want the full itinerary of her day, Mom?" Lorelai asked, and then turned to Rory. "Honey, let Grandma know now what time you plan on going to the bathroom tomorrow so she's not wondering all day."

Rory smirked. "I'm not quite sure of that yet."

"There's nothing wrong with wanting to know about how my granddaughter plans to spend her last day of her first year of college," Emily insisted. "It's a special occasion, after all."

"Yes, it is," Lorelai agreed. "We should celebrate it tonight with some mozzarella sticks because _someone_ got me craving them." She gave Rory a look.

"Sorry," Rory said, and then she gestured to Josh. "You're losing your kid there."

Josh was trying to squirm out of Lorelai's lap onto the floor. "I know, but if I let him down, he'll crawl all over the place and I'll have to follow him, and I just wanna be lazy right now," Lorelai said. "Does anyone have a dog leash?"

"I'll follow him around," Rory offered.

Lorelai gasped. "Really? Thank you."

Rory stood up and took her brother from Lorelai, and then set him on the floor. As he started to crawl away, Rory slowly walked behind him to make sure he didn't get into any trouble.

Lorelai leaned back in her chair. "I owe you one. Oh, wait, I already gave you life, so..."

"So I guess we're even now," Rory replied. "Fair trade off."

"Is Luke at work tonight?" Emily asked.

"No, he went camping with a couple of friends," Lorelai replied. "He left a few hours ago, he'll be back on Sunday morning."

Emily looked displeased by that response. "And left you alone all weekend with a baby?"

Lorelai rolled her eyes slightly and took a sip of her drink before replying, "If you're trying to imply that he's horrible for doing that, then the fact that I left him alone with a baby for _ten days_ while I gallivanted around Europe means I'm way more horrible than he is. So we'll just leave it at that, we're both horrible."

"I'm starting my internship on Monday," Rory spoke up, trying to change the subject. "At the Courant."

"Oh, that's right," Emily said, happily shifting the conversation focus to Rory. "Are you excited?"

"Yes, and a little nervous," Rory admitted. "I don't really know what I'm going to be doing yet."

"Whatever it is, it'll be an invaluable experience," Lorelai said. "Even the assistants who make the coffee runs are still right there in the middle of all the action, so just being there doing anything is going to be amazing."

"If they have you fetching coffee, you tell your grandfather and I, and we'll make some calls," Emily said sternly. "I'm sure we know someone with a connection to that paper."

"That won't be necessary, Grandma," Rory told her. She picked up Josh and moved him away from the staircase. "Even if they do ask me to get coffee, I'm sure that won't be the _only_ thing I'll be doing."

"But she'd be damn good at it," Lorelai added.

"Well, you let me know if you need us to make a call," Emily said.

"I will let you know," Rory assured her.

"And you know, if you ever need to go into the office extra early, you can stay here the night before so your commute will be shorter," Emily offered. "Or if you're working late one night and don't want to drive all the way home, just feel free to come by and stay the night."

"I might take you up on that, thanks," Rory replied sincerely.

"Of course," Emily replied, smiling, and then she looked down at her watch. "I'm going to go fetch Richard. I'll be right back."

. . . . .

. . . . .

The next afternoon, Lorelai was at home in the living room with Josh when the phone rang. She grabbed it from the coffee table and answered, "Hello?"

"Well, Grandma now knows I'm dating someone," Rory greeted her.

Lorelai's eye widened with surprise. "What? How?" She sat back down on the couch to watch Josh crawl around playing with whatever he could get his hands on.

"She showed up at my dorm this afternoon with some guy she wanted to introduce me to," Rory replied. "She knows his family and found out he had a final today like I did, and I guess wanted to set us up. But Mark was here when they got here."

Lorelai cringed. "Oh, God. Were you guys... you know... in the middle of..."

"No!" Rory exclaimed. "Oh, my God!"

"Okay, well, I don't know how you college kids celebrate the last day of finals!" Lorelai exclaimed back.

"Not by doing that! We still haven't even talked about it!"

"Okay, sorry... so what _were_ you doing?"

"He brought over some pizza for lunch and he was helping me pack up boxes, that's it," Rory said.

Lorelai smiled. "Aw, that's nice." Then concern quickly reappeared on her face. "So, what happened with Emily?"

"Well, she showed up with this guy, and of course was shocked to see another guy already there with me. I introduced Mark as a classmate from the paper, and the random guy invited us to hang out tonight with some other Yalies. And then he left, but Grandma stayed a bit longer."

Lorelai cringed again. "Oh, man. What did she do?"

"She started in on the 'so, you two are _only_ classmates?' line of questioning," Rory replied. "And when I admitted that we had just recently started seeing each other, she gave me this look like... I don't even _know_ what."

"That 'I can't believe you didn't tell me this important news because I'm supposed to know everything about your life and now you've seriously disappointed me' look?" Lorelai asked.

"Yeah, that's the one."

"I'm familiar with it."

"She probably hates me now for keeping that from her."

"She'll get over it."

"Really?"

"Probably not, but she'll pretend to at some point," Lorelai replied. "Let me guess, she went into interrogation mode after that."

"Yup. She asked him where he's from, about his family, what he's studying, what his career plans were... I felt bad for him getting hammered with questions. I apologized like crazy after she left."

"How did he take it?"

"He handled it fine, he just stood there and answered her questions politely," Rory replied. "He didn't get annoyed or anything. But I knew she was judging every word that came out of his mouth, so I was on edge just waiting for some snide comment from her. But she was okay, nothing rude, just a lot of questions."

"Did she have any connection to his family?" Lorelai asked. "Did she know his grandparents or know of his family name at all?"

"She didn't say, but she did insist that I bring him to dinner sometime," Rory said. "She even tried to nail down a date with him, but since he's gonna be out of town for awhile for his internship, I told her it would have to be later in the summer."

"So you have plenty of time to prepare him before he has to deal with both grandparents at the same time."

"Yeah," Rory replied, and then she took a deep breath and exhaled it. "But other than that, my final went well and my car is now packed with boxes to bring home. Most of it fit, but there's still some stuff left."

"Okay. When Luke gets home tomorrow, we'll get the rest," Lorelai said. "Are you coming home tonight?"

"Yeah. Mark went back to his room to finish loading up his car, and then we're gonna grab an early dinner before we both head home," Rory replied. "He's driving to Providence tonight to see his parents and then driving tomorrow to his brother's in Norwich for his internship on Monday."

"Okay, have fun," Lorelai said. "I'll see you tonight."

"I'll see you later. Bye, Mom."

"Bye."

. . . . .

. . . . .

The next morning, Rory was unpacking boxes in her bedroom while Lorelai sat on Rory's bed eating a Pop-Tart.

Rory hung up some clothes in her closet and then started ruffling through the clothes. "I wonder what I should wear tomorrow. I'm not sure what their dress code is."

"Hmm, I'd probably start with business casual," Lorelai suggested. "With emphasis on the business part, at least for your first day. And if you get there and see people running around in bathing suits, we'll know they focus more on the casual of business casual."

The phone rang, and Lorelai jumped up from the bed to answer it before it woke up Josh, who was sleeping in his carseat in the living room. She quickly grabbed the phone from the kitchen counter. "Hello?"

"Hey, it's me," Luke's voice replied.

Lorelai smiled into the phone. "Hey, you. Are you on your way home?"

"Yeah, I just dropped John and Jeff off, I'm heading home now," Luke replied.

She wandered back into Rory's room and sat on the bed. "How was it? Did you have a good time?"

"Yeah, it was good, we had fun," Luke replied. "Did some fishing, some hiking, played cards by the fire. No run ins with bears, which is always a good thing."

"Good, that sounds fun," Lorelai said. "You were way overdue for a fun guys' weekend."

"Everything good there?"

"Yeah, very good. Rory's home, we're unpacking some of her boxes," Lorelai said.

" _I'm_ unpacking, she's watching," Rory loudly announced in the background.

" _Rory's_ unpacking some of her boxes," Lorelai corrected herself. "She has a few things left at her dorm that need to be picked up, so maybe you and Rory can go over there this afternoon."

"Sure. I just have to take a quick shower first and grab some lunch," Luke replied. "How's the boy?

"He's good, he's napping in the living room right now, so enter quietly. Pottery Barn rules - you wake him, you buy him."

"Okay. I'll see you soon."

"Bye."

. . . . .

. . . . .

Luke arrived home, unloaded his camping gear onto the driveway, and sprayed some of the muddy stuff down with the hose. He walked into the house through the kitchen door and put his duffel bag on the floor.

Hearing the door open, Lorelai walked out of Rory's bedroom. "Oh, hello Mountain Man... welcome home."

Luke smiled when he saw her. "Hey."

Lorelai walked over to him and greeted him with a kiss and a hug, and then she sniffed his shirt. "You smell rugged, babe."

Luke smirked. "Told you I needed a shower."

"It's a sexy rugged, not a gross rugged," Lorelai said, and then patted him on the chest. "But you get cleaned up, I'll make some sandwiches for lunch." She gestured toward the living room. "He's still sleeping in there, so no sudden noises."

Luke walked over to the entryway of the kitchen to look toward the living room. "Where?"

"In his car seat by the coffee table," Lorelai replied. "He fell asleep in my arms, and that was the closest place to put him."

"Got it." Luke poked his head into Rory's room. "Hey."

Rory was organizing things on her desk, and she turned around to face him. "Hey, Luke. How was camping?"

"It was good. You wanna head over to Yale in about an hour to get the rest of your stuff?"

"Yup, sounds good, thanks."

"Okay." Luke turned back to Lorelai, who was looking into the fridge. "I'm heading upstairs."

Lorelai pulled out a couple of things from the fridge and turned to look at him. "Okay." She held up two packages of lunch meat. "You want turkey or ham?"

"Turkey," Luke replied, and then he said, "You know, we have to buckle down this week on getting the upstairs packed. Tom and his crew are starting next Monday."

"I know," Lorelai said. "We have all week, we'll do a little each day. Except today, obviously... because, you know... day of rest."

"Obviously," Luke concurred, smiling at her. "I'll be right down."

. . . . .

. . . . .

After Luke showered and the adults ate lunch, he and Rory went to Yale to pick up the last few remaining items left in her dorm. Lorelai stayed home with Josh, and took him for a walk to Weston's to pick up some snacks.

As they were heading back home, her cell phone rang, and she pulled it from her pocket. "Hello?" she answered.

"Hey, it's me," Luke greeted her. "Are you not home? I just left a message at the house."

"We went for a walk," Lorelai replied. "You guys on your way home?"

Luke was pacing beside his car at Yale while Rory waited in the passenger seat. "Yeah, about to head back now," Luke replied. "But listen... I just got a call from Liz... she and TJ were in a car accident up in Maine."

Lorelai gasped. "Oh, my God. Are they okay?"

"Yeah, they have some broken bones, though," Luke replied. "She asked if I could come help her. I need to go up there for a few days and help them figure out how they can run their booth when they can't even walk. I'm gonna leave tonight."

"You're gonna go to Maine _tonight_ for a _few days_?" Lorelai asked, narrowing her eyes with confusion.

"Well, they're actually gonna need help for a few weeks, but she knows I can't do that," Luke said. "I told her I could come for a few days and try to help figure things out."

"Weeks?!" Lorelai exclaimed.

"I just said I'm not doing that," Luke told her. "Calm down. It's a few days. It'll just be like I'm out camping again, it's not a big deal."

"But you just got home from camping."

"From a camping trip _you_ encouraged me to go on," he reminded her. "But this is not some fun excursion we're talking about here, I need to make sure my sister's okay."

"But it's during the work week," Lorelai complained. "You have morning Josh duty and the diner and we have the renovation starting soon... we have to clear out the entire upstairs, I can't do that on my own!"

"We'll figure it out," Luke said. "I'll get people to cover extra shifts at the diner and we'll get people to watch Josh in the mornings while you're at work, no big deal. And Rory's home to help you at night, so you won't be alone. It won't be so bad."

Lorelai exhaled a sigh. "Well, but what about Jess? Maybe he could go instead."

"He's got a final tomorrow, and he has work, and he's going to California in a few days," Luke reminded her.

"Oh, yeah," Lorelai muttered. "But - "

"But _what_? She's my sister, Lorelai."

"And I'm your _wife,_ " she countered.

"And what does my _wife_ want me to do?" Luke retorted. "Leave my sister to fend for herself with her broken limbs instead of going to check on her and try to help her?"

"No, but you can't just suddenly decide you're going to leave _tonight_ without talking to me about it and thinking things through first," Lorelai said.

"I _am_ talking to you about it, but there's not exactly time to think things through, this is an emergency," Luke said, getting frustrated at her debating with him. "When emergencies happen, you don't have time to sit and make a game plan and make sure everything's all tied up with a nice clean bow. You just do what you need to do, and I need to go help my sister. I thought you'd understand that because if _you_ felt strongly that you wanted to go help someone who needed it, _I'd_ understand that and not fight you on it."

He sounded stressed and his words were starting to come out angrily, so Lorelai stopped pushing back. "Okay, fine, do what you need to do," she defeatedly told him.

"I'll make some calls to get the diner covered, can you start looking for babysitters?"

Lorelai pursed her lips and reluctantly replied, "Mmhmm."

"I don't know exactly how long I'll be, but I'm hoping just 2 or 3 days."

"Okay."

Her answers were short and her tone was cold, and Luke knew she was upset. He sighed softly into the phone and his voice softened. "Lorelai, it's an _emergency_ , okay? I can't help it that the timing sucks... I'm just trying to do what's right here. I know you're getting the raw end of the deal... trust me, I _know_ that. I'm sorry. I don't _want_ to leave you guys, but I don't know what else to do here."

Lorelai felt tears welling up in her eyes, and she didn't even know why. She sighed heavily into the phone. "I know. I have to go find some sitters. I'll see you later." She hung up the phone before he could respond.

Luke sighed loudly and closed his phone. He got back into the car and dropped the phone into the cup holder. "She's not happy."

The window was open, so Rory had caught snippets of the conversation. "I could tell."

"She doesn't want me to go. But it's my sister... I can't hear that she was in a bad accident like that and _not_ go check on her."

"I know."

"It's like if twenty-five years from now, you were in an accident and you called Josh for help, wouldn't you expect him to try to come help you if he could?" Luke asked. "He's your family. That's what family does, you know? They're there when you need help."

"Yeah," Rory quietly agreed.

Luke glanced over at Rory and then exhaled a sigh when he realized she was in an awkward spot. "Sorry. I'm putting you in the middle."

"It's okay."

"No, it's not, I shouldn't do that. I'm sorry, really."

"Apology accepted," Rory assured him as she patted his arm.

"Thank you." He picked up his phone with a sigh. "I have to call the diner."

Meanwhile, on her way home, Lorelai stopped at Miss Patty's and then Babette's to ask for their help in the upcoming week. They both told her they'd keep their mornings free for whatever she needed, which helped instantly relieve some of her anxiety. She walked back home and brought Josh into the house. The answering machine was blinking and she hit the play button.

The first message was from Luke's sister, who had tried to reach Luke at the house before calling his cell phone. Lorelai's heart sank as she heard the usually-upbeat Liz dejectedly tell them about the accident and ask her big brother if he could please come up and help them so they don't get bumped from the faire.

The second message was from Luke, telling Lorelai he had just spoken to his sister, that she was in an accident, and that he might need to go help her for a few days to figure out how they can run their booth.

As a wave of guilt rushed through her, Lorelai groaned and rubbed her face with her hands. "Ugh, what is wrong with me?" she muttered to herself. "He's just trying to be a good brother."

She took Josh upstairs, and they were still up there when Luke and Rory arrived home half an hour later.

After he helped Rory unload her stuff from his car, Luke headed upstairs. The nursery and bathroom were both empty, and the master bedroom door was closed. He knocked lightly on the door.

"Come in," Lorelai called.

Luke pushed open the door just a crack, in case Josh was crawling around in the room. "Is he awake in here?"

Lorelai was standing near the bed, and she pointed toward the closet. "He's over there."

Luke stepped in and shut the door behind him. Josh was on the floor in front of the closet surrounded by toys, but playing with a buckle on one of Lorelai's purses.

Luke walked over to him and kneeled down to see him. "Hi, buddy," Luke said softly. "What are you doing? Are you playing?"

Luke stayed down on the floor with him for a minute before he finally stood up and turned toward Lorelai. Her back was to him as she sorted laundry on the bed. He approached her slowly, and then hesitantly wrapped his arms around her waist from behind to give her a hug, unsure if she would try to push him away.

He was relieved when she didn't, and instead she leaned back into his body and relaxed against him. "You still mad at me?" he asked her.

Lorelai shook her head. "No." She turned around in his arms to face him. "I wasn't mad, I was surprised."

"You were pissed," Luke pointed out.

"I was _surprised_ ," she repeated. "My surprise may have come out sounding similar to anger, but I didn't mean it to." She distractedly played with a button on his shirt. "I was glad you were home from camping, and all I heard over the phone was that you were leaving again already, and that overwhelmed me, and I reacted emotionally. Maybe a little negatively." She wrinkled her nose a little as she added, "One might say... a little selfishly."

"One might say that," Luke agreed with a nod.

"I wanted you home, and it didn't really register right away that someone else needed you more than I did," Lorelai said, shaking her head disappointedly at herself. "But then I felt guilty. Your sister needs you, and you should go help her."

Luke was surprised she'd changed her tone already. "You sure?"

"Yes."

"That's it?" he asked her uncertainly. "No more attitude about it?"

"No more attitude." She draped her arms over his shoulders. "I'm very aware that I married a man who will drop everything to help someone who needs help... and I _love_ that. Even if it means I have to lend him out to other people once in awhile instead of keeping him all to myself."

Luke smiled. "That's nice of you to share me with others."

"Yes, it is," Lorelai agreed, and then she nibbled on her bottom lip for a second before adding, "And I did something to make up for the aforementioned negative, slightly selfish reaction... although I'm not sure how you're gonna feel about it."

Luke eyed her with confusion. "What'd you do?"

"Well, you said they're gonna need help for a few weeks," Lorelai said. "So I found someone who can go up to Maine with you and stay there to help them a little longer than you can."

"Who?"

"Someone who had a blast working at their wedding and loved wearing the old timey garbs and talking in the renaissance speak," Lorelai replied, and then smiled through gritted teeth.

Luke's eyes widened. "You asked _Kirk_ to go to Maine with me?"

"He was so excited to do it! He can't wait to dress up again and spend a few weeks at the faire."

"But it's Kirk!" Luke exclaimed.

"And he wants Lulu to come visit him and dress like a wench."

"Oh, good Lord, Lorelai," Luke muttered, shaking his head.

"Come on, it's a good idea," Lorelai insisted. "Yes, he's a little out there sometimes, but he works really hard at his jobs. He'll help them run that booth like it's his own."

"How can he even have time to do this with all his jobs?"

"They all seem to let him do whatever he wants," Lorelai said with a shrug. "He said it would be a piece of cake to get time off."

"But - "

Lorelai put her hand over his mouth. "Plus, if he's up there for a few weeks, that means he's not here bugging you. There's an extra bonus."

Luke groaned softly against her hand, and she pulled it away. "I don't know about this," he said.

"Look, it's worth a shot, isn't it?" Lorelai said. "We can send him up for a few days to try it out, and if it's not working, they can put him on a train back home. But if he _can_ help them, won't that make you feel better to know they're not struggling?"

Luke thought it over and exhaled a sigh. "Yeah, I guess... thanks."

Lorelai smiled. "You're welcome."

"But now I have to spend 5 hours in a car with him?" Luke asked, rolling his eyes.

"It's for a good cause, remember that."

"Ugh, it's gonna be - " His voice trailed off when he felt something touch his shoe, and he glanced down to see Josh hitting it. He smiled and leaned down to pick him up. "What are you doing? Are you hitting Daddy's shoe? You trying to get my attention?"

"He's trying to show his sympathy for the 5 hour car ride," Lorelai said, and leaned in to kiss Josh's cheek. "Aren't you, handsome boy? You feel bad for Daddy?"

"I appreciate the sympathy," Luke said to him, and then he looked at Lorelai. "Oh, were you able to get babysitters?"

"Yeah, I started off with Patty and Babette, and they both said they could do any day I needed them to," Lorelai replied. "And then when I got home, I called Gypsy and asked her to be a backup at night in case I needed help. You know, so she wouldn't feel left out and then hate us and take it out on our cars."

Luke smiled. "Good idea."

"You get the diner covered?"

"Yeah, it's all set," he replied. He glanced down at the bed at the clothes she was sorting and realized they were all his. "Are you packing for me?"

Lorelai followed his gaze. "Yeah, figured I'd start getting some things together for you."

"Wow, you really did feel guilty, huh?" Luke asked with a smirk.

"Yeah, I did." Lorelai gestured around the room. "But I still don't know how we're gonna get all of this cleared out and be ready for the renovations to start on Monday."

"It will be fine," Luke said calmly as he comfortingly rubbed her arms. "Pack up what you can while I'm gone, and then we'll finish it up when I get back." She still looked concerned, and he leaned in to kiss her. "Trust me, okay?"

Lorelai nodded and kissed him again. "Yeah."

Luke handed Josh to her. "Here, you take him. I'll get packed, and then we'll hang out for a little and have an early dinner before I leave."

"What time should I tell Kirk to be here?"

"Uh, quarter to never?"

Lorelai cocked her head to the side. "Luke. Be nice to him... he's doing us a pretty big favor."

Luke sighed and nodded. "I know, sorry. Quarter to five."

. . . . .

. . . . .

Luke, Lorelai, Rory, and Josh spent the next few hours together at home, and after dinner, Luke and Kirk left for Maine. Lorelai told Luke to call her that night when he was settled in, and finally, shortly after eleven, the phone rang.

Lorelai had the phone next to her in the bed, and answered it after the first ring. "Hello?"

"Hi," Luke greeted her. "Did I wake you?"

"No, I'm up. I was waiting to hear from you. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, we saw Liz and TJ, and now we're at a motel a few minutes from the fairgrounds."

"Where are they, are they in a tent?"

"No, some guy they know has a summer house up here, so they're staying with him because they can't crawl in and out of a tent yet."

"Right."

"We're gonna pick them up tomorrow morning and head to the fairgrounds, and they're gonna show Kirk what he can do to help them, what the daily routine is, stuff like that," Luke said. "But they were both grateful that we came. Liz especially, she was practically in tears thanking us."

Lorelai smiled. "Aw, good."

"How was the rest of your night?"

"It was good. Lane came over to see Rory, and the two of them watched Josh downstairs while I packed up his room a little. I made some good progress."

"Oh, good," Luke said, and then added, "I promise you're not gonna have to do it all by yourself. I will help you the second I get home."

"I know, it's okay," she assured him. "It's not hard when I have people to watch him for me. I was thinking I might ask Gypsy to come by tomorrow night and keep an eye on him for a little while so Rory can help me with the packing."

"That's a good idea." Luke was out in the parking lot in front of his motel room, getting some privacy from Kirk. He rubbed his temple and sighed into the phone. "Man, it's been a long day. A long few days, actually."

"I know."

"I feel like I haven't been in our bed in a long time."

"You haven't," she said, and she ran her hand over his side of the mattress. "I don't like when you're not in it with me."

"Are you in it now?"

"Yeah."

Luke closed his eyes for a few seconds to picture her in bed. "What are you wearing?" he asked in a low husky voice.

Lorelai smiled into the phone. "Uh, well... your son, actually," she replied, glancing down at Josh sleeping on her chest.

Luke opened his eyes. "Huh?"

"That wasn't the sexy answer you were hoping for, huh?"

Luke smiled. "Not really. Is he okay?"

"Yeah. He woke up crying in the crib half an hour ago, so I brought him in here, and he fell back asleep on me." She ran a hand over his back. "He looks so comfy."

"The phone didn't wake him?" Luke asked, surprised.

"No, I turned the volume down really low," Lorelai replied. "Mama knows how to keep her baby sleeping."

"Yes, she does."

There was a brief pause before Lorelai said, "I'm sorry that I freaked out earlier."

"It's okay. We already talked about it."

"I know, I'm just reiterating it so you know I do feel bad about it."

"It's fine. You reacted, you thought things through, and you changed your reaction. It happens to everyone. It's sure as hell happened to me before."

"Yeah."

"I personally think you just didn't want to be alone in the bed anymore," Luke said. "Which is understandable... I'm excellent at cuddling."

Lorelai grinned and leaned back against her pillow. "You really are."

"We'll cuddle when I get back."

"Among other things?"

"Among many other things," he confirmed, and then he yawned. "Okay, I'm gonna turn in. And you should get him to the crib so you can, too. You're not gonna sleep well with him on top of you."

"I know. I'll try to lay him down."

"I'll call you tomorrow. I love you."

"Love you, too," Lorelai replied. "Goodnight."

"'Night."

. . . . .

. . . . .

 **To be continued...**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

. . . . .

. . . . .

Late Wednesday night, the house was dark and quiet when Luke arrived home a little after midnight. He'd spoken to Lorelai a few hours earlier and told her he'd be home on Thursday. What he didn't mention was that he was actually already en route to Stars Hollow, and when he said Thursday, he meant the very early morning hours.

Babette was supposed to watch Josh on Thursday morning, and he'd already called her to tell her she didn't need to. He also had arranged to take the rest of the week off from the diner to help get the house ready for the renovations.

Luke quietly headed upstairs. He set his duffel bag down in the hallway, and then peeked into the nursery to check on Josh, who was sleeping soundly in his crib.

He got ready for bed in the bathroom before heading to the master bedroom. Lorelai was asleep, and he felt a comforting sense of relief when he saw her. Between his camping trip and his trip to Maine, he hadn't been in the same bed with her for five nights, but it felt like weeks.

He climbed into his side of the bed and moved close to her. She was facing his direction as she slept, and he watched her for a few moments before he ran his hand along her arm and whispered, "Lorelai."

He watched as her eyes fluttered open, and then they widened when she saw him. "You're home," she said tiredly as a smile appeared on her lips. "Or else this is a very realistic dream."

Luke smiled. "I'm home." He leaned in to kiss her, then rolled onto his back and patted his chest. "Come here."

Lorelai cuddled up against him and rested her head on his chest. "I missed you."

He slipped his arm behind her and held her close to him. "You, too. You have no idea."

"How's everything in Maine?"

Luke kissed the top of her head. "I'll tell you in the morning, I just wanted you to know I was home. Let's go to sleep."

"Okay."

They fell asleep quickly. When Luke heard Josh crying in the morning through the baby monitor, he rushed to get him so Lorelai could sleep in a little longer. He changed him and got him dressed for the day, and then brought him downstairs for breakfast.

Rory was already up in the kitchen making coffee and getting herself a bowl of cereal. "Luke, hey," she said, surprised to see him. "When did you get back? We weren't expecting you until today."

"Late last night," he replied as he put Josh in his high chair. "I didn't tell your mom I was coming home early, I wanted to surprise her."

"I bet she was excited," Rory said, and then added, "Or did she not see you yet?"

"She saw. I woke her up when I got home," Luke said. "Just in case she felt someone in the bed with her in the middle of the night and freaked out with a physical reaction that would've left me with some sort of painful injury."

Rory smiled as she sat down at the table with her breakfast. "Good idea planning ahead."

"Thanks." Luke grabbed some strawberries and blueberries from the fridge, and rinsed them off in the sink. He grabbed a knife and plate, and sat down at the table to cut the fruit for Josh. "How's your internship?"

"Oh, it's good," Rory replied. "Really good. I like the woman I report to... Brenda. She's been there a long time, and has experience working at a few other papers, too, so I think she'll be a good mentor."

"Good, that's great," Luke replied, happy that she seemed excited about it. "What types of things are you gonna be doing?"

"A little of everything," she replied. "Helping do research for stories, going with reporters out to conduct interviews, transcribing the interviews, pitching ideas that hopefully, eventually, they'll ask me to write a story on."

Luke put some fruit on Josh's tray. "Well, just work hard at whatever they ask you to do, show them you're reliable and capable, and try to learn as much as you can while you're there."

Rory nodded. "That's the plan."

"You'll do great."

Rory smiled. "Thanks."

Luke washed the plate and knife in the sink, and then started making Josh his morning bottle. "So, what did I miss here?" he asked. "I saw boxes in the hallway upstairs... I guess you guys got some packing done?"

"Yeah, we did. We packed up a lot of the nursery, and then we started going through Mom's clothes. We put away things she definitely wouldn't be wearing in the next few months, like her winter and fall clothes. And I was able to convince her to donate a few older outfits to Goodwill." She pretended to tip an invisible hat. "You're welcome."

Luke smiled as he gave her an impressed nod. "Good job. I've tried to get her to do that before, I wasn't successful."

"She tried to argue with me that you guys are getting a bigger closet so there would be more room for all of her stuff, hence there was no need to get rid of anything," Rory said. "But I used my methods of persuasion on her."

"Appreciate it."

"It's useless trying to get her to part with any jackets, though," Rory warned him. "It's not happening. She's very proud of that collection."

Luke smiled. "Oh, I know." He sat back down at the table with her. "Any town drama going on? Or did the town drama leave when I took Kirk to Maine?"

Rory smiled. "No, nothing much has been happening. Oh, except I met the new neighbors the other day. Mom and I took Josh for a walk, and all three of them were out in their front yard."

"Oh, cool, so you met the kid, too? I haven't met her yet."

"Yeah, she's really cute, she loved talking to Josh," Rory said. "They all seem really nice."

They chatted a little longer while Rory finished eating breakfast, and then she headed to Hartford. When Josh was finished with his fruit, Luke brought him to the living room with his bottle. They were playing on the floor when Lorelai came downstairs dressed for work a little while later.

"Morning," Luke greeted her as he stood up from the floor.

Lorelai smiled as she walked over to him. "Hey." She kissed him, then leaned down to say hi to Josh. As she stood back up, she gestured to the kitchen. "Let me grab some coffee and then we can chat."

"Okay."

As Lorelai headed to the kitchen, Luke sat down on the couch. She returned with her coffee, and he filled her in on the goings on in Maine. He explained how he had spent the last two days helping Liz and TJ train Kirk in the do's and don'ts of Renaissance life. They showed him how to display the jewelry and run their booth, and offered to give him a small percentage of his sales to thank him for his help.

"It actually seemed like he was gonna be pretty good at it," Luke reluctantly admitted, and Lorelai grinned. He nodded and added, "Yes, I know, I know... you were right."

"I have some pretty good ideas sometimes, huh?" Lorelai remarked.

"Yes, you do," Luke agreed, and then he sincerely added, "Thank you. I feel better knowing someone's there helping them, even if it is Kirk."

"You're welcome, I'm glad it worked out," Lorelai replied.

"Rory said you guys got a lot of packing done upstairs," Luke said, and then he stood up and surveyed the furniture around him. "I guess we should start working on this room."

Lorelai stood up next to him. "Yeah, and Rory and I were talking about it yesterday, and we came up with a good game plan. All of that over there," she said, pointing to the desk, bookcase, end table, floor plant, and chair along the front wall, "should go into the garage. Then we'll put his crib in the corner, our bed next to it under the window, and then we'll put a dresser of clothes in the foyer."

"Okay."

Lorelai turned and faced the fireplace. "And then we'll put the armchairs and coffee table in the garage... and the changing table because he's getting too big for it anyway. Then we'll just move the couch toward the side door so we still have some seating, but he still has some floor space to play in."

"Okay, that sounds good," Luke agreed. "And just so you know, I'm not going back to the diner until Monday. I've got people covering so we can just focus on getting the house ready."

Lorelai smiled. "Okay, good... thanks." She glanced at the clock. "Oh, shoot, I have to go." She picked up Josh and said goodbye to him, and then set him back down with his toys. "You're taking Jess to the airport this afternoon, right?"

"Yup... 2 o'clock," Luke confirmed.

"Okay." She nodded toward the kitchen. "I'll be right back." She brought her coffee cup to the kitchen sink and grabbed a package of Pop Tarts to take to work with her. She walked back toward the living room, and Luke met her at the foyer to walk her out.

Lorelai grabbed her purse and keys, and as he pulled open the front door for her, she said, "By the way, you know what I realized?"

"What?"

"For the next few months, with our bed in the living room, we will be devoid of any privacy at all." She cocked her head to the side and added, "Like _no_ privacy. None. Not even a little."

Luke cringed and sucked in a deep breath. He scratched the side of his head. "Hadn't really thought about that."

"Just trying to prepare you," Lorelai said, and then gestured toward the upstairs. "We should take advantage of that locking bedroom door before we find ourselves without one." Luke nodded in agreement and leaned in to kiss her, and she smiled against his lips. "Okay, but not right now, I'm going to work."

Luke smiled. "I know. Go. I'll see you later."

"Bye."

. . . . .

. . . . .

That afternoon, Luke pulled up in front of the airport with Jess, and they both got out of the car. As Jess grabbed his bag from the backseat, Luke walked over to him.

Luke pulled some folded up money out of his pocket and offered it to Jess. "Here... just in case you need it."

"It's okay, I have money," Jess replied.

"Just take it to have, okay?" Luke insisted, pushing it toward him. "You don't have to use it, but you're gonna be all the way across the country and I'll feel better knowing you have an emergency fund if you need it."

"I'm only gonna be gone for 4 days," Jess reminded him. "What do you think's gonna happen in 4 days?" But he accepted the money and slipped it into his pocket, adding, "But thanks."

"Sure," Luke replied with a nod. "So, Jimmy knows when to get you at the airport and everything?"

"Yup."

"You have your cell phone?"

"Yup."

"You gonna roll your eyes if I ask you to call me when you get there?"

"Yup."

Luke smirked. "All right, well... then, I'll see you in a couple days." He hesitated a moment, and then gave Jess a quick hug and a pat on the back. "Have a good trip."

Jess pulled back and gave him a nod. "See ya. Thanks for the ride."

Luke watched as Jess walked into the airport, and then he got into his car and drove home.

When he arrived at the house, Lorelai was sitting on the porch steps with Josh in his stroller beside her. "Hey," she greeted Luke as he walked over.

"Hey." Luke sat down next to her on the steps. "What are you guys up to?"

"We just took a walk, and now we're having outside snack time," Lorelai replied, and offered him the bowl of Cheerios in her hand. "Hungry?"

"I'm good," Luke declined.

Lorelai gave Josh a few more Cheerios, and then put the bowl down on the porch. "How did the drop off go?" Lorelai asked Luke. "Did you give Jess the money?"

"Yeah. He turned it down at first, but then he took it," Luke replied. "It felt weird just dropping him off and sending him across the country like that. I know he's an adult, but he just seems so young to be out there by himself."

Lorelai smiled. "Your paternal instincts are kicking in. It's cute."

"Well, I gotta try to turn off those instincts," Luke said. "Because Jess sure as hell doesn't want me acting like an overbearing father."

"You're not overbearing," Lorelai said. "You worry about him, but you don't go overboard, you don't bug him about stuff."

"You sure?"

"Yes. But I will let you know if I see that changing."

"Thanks." Luke nodded at Josh, who had started to slump down in his stroller like he was ready to fall asleep. "Someone's dozing off."

Lorelai looked into the stroller. "Yes, he is," she said, and then she gasped softly. "Oh, I almost forgot... we made some progress on Operation First Birthday Party while you were gone. Wanna hear our plans?"

"Sure, what'd you decide?"

"Okay, it's gonna be a carnival theme," Lorelai said, and she started talking animatedly with her hands as she continued describing her vision. "I'm picturing giant colorful tents set up, and we'll rent a ferris wheel and maybe a carousel, and we'll have all kinds of food booths, and a bunch of game stands for people to play. You know, the ones where you pay a buck and throw a dart at a balloon to try to pop it and then you win a stuffed animal or something. Except all the games will be free for the guests, and then the prize they win will be their party favor. Oh, and I was thinking we could have a dunk tank, and you could be in it and we'll let people throw balls and try to dunk you."

Luke was staring at her with wide eyes as she listed the various components of this carnival-themed party. Finally, he blinked a few times before asking, "Are you serious?"

"About which part?"

"About _any_ of it!" Luke exclaimed as softly as he could so he wouldn't wake up Josh.

Lorelai frowned. "What's wrong with our plan?"

Luke shook his head in disbelief. "Rent a ferris wheel and carousel? Set up games and food booths? A dunk tank? First of all, the budget you seem to have in your head for this birthday party is more than our wedding; second of all, I know you don't honestly believe I'm going to get in a damn dunk tank; third of all - " His voice trailed off when he saw the amused smile on her face, and he groaned. "Why do you do stuff like that?"

"Ranting Luke is hot," she declared.

Luke rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well, one day you're going to induce me into a rant for your own personal enjoyment and I'm going to have a stroke or a heart attack, and then you won't get to watch ranting Luke or working out Luke or lawn mowing Luke or any other of the Lukes you find hot because they'll all be severely incapacitated, or dead."

Lorelai frowned. "That would be a bummer."

"Yes, it would be," he agreed, and then he asked, "So, all of the carnival stuff was made up?"

"Yup."

"Did you have any _actual_ progress on the plans?"

Lorelai pondered for a moment. "Well, I do think we decided on a real theme."

"Okay. What is it?"

"We were thinking since he's a summer birthday, we should just keep it simple with a summer theme," Lorelai said. "You know, like a beachy nautical thing, sharks and fish and boats, stuff like that. What do you think?"

"I think it's cute," Luke said.

"We still haven't decided where to have the party," Lorelai said. "The house is out, obviously, because of the construction. So, it's either the town square, or maybe a more quaint gathering at Miss Patty's, or maybe outside at the inn under some tents."

"I think it depends on how many people you invite," Luke said.

"The entire town," Lorelai replied, and after a pause, added, "And I guess my parents."

Luke rolled his eyes and shook his head. "You're not inviting the whole town. Pare down the list, then we'll figure out where to have the party."

"All right, fine... I'll try."

"And don't forget Buddy and Maisie," Luke reminded her.

Lorelai smiled. "Of course I won't. We haven't seen them in awhile," she said. "We should go to Sniffy's for dinner one night."

"Yeah, that's a good idea," Luke agreed.

Lorelai leaned back until her back hit the floor of the porch. She placed her hands behind her head and closed her eyes. "I'm exhausted. Can we follow Josh's lead and all take outdoor naps right now?"

"Sure."

"You know, despite the whole lack of privacy thing, it might actually be pretty convenient having our bed down in the living room. We won't have to drag our tired butts up the stairs every night."

"Good point."

"Also convenient if we wanted to send the kids away for the evening and have a swinger party," Lorelai added. "People can walk in and get right to business."

"Right, right," Luke agreed. "Plus, it's closer to the kitchen for when the guests get hungry. You know they're gonna work up quite an appetite."

Lorelai smiled and opened her eyes. She loved when he went along with whatever crazy thing she said instead of the usual groan or eyeroll. "Exactly. People would rave about our hosting skills with that setup."

"Yup. We'd probably be honored with an award of some sort... a nice plaque to hang up in the living room."

"Best swingers in town," Lorelai said, smiling at him. She paused a moment when she heard the phone ringing from inside the house and her smile faded. "Ugh," she groaned, and reached her hand toward the front door. "The phone is so far."

"I got it," Luke said, and he walked into the house to retrieve the phone from the desk. "Hello?"

"Hello, Luke," Emily greeted him.

"Emily, hi," he replied.

"Is Lorelai home?" Emily asked.

"Yeah, she's right here, hold on," Luke replied, and he walked back out onto the porch. He sat down next to her and held out the phone. "It's for you, it's your mom."

After making a face, she sat up and took the phone from him. "Hi, Mom," she answered.

"Hello, Lorelai," Emily replied. "We haven't received a save-the-date for Joshua's birthday party so I was wondering if you were having one, or if we've been conveniently left off the list."

Lorelai narrowed her eyes. "Of course we're having a party for him... we were actually just talking about it."

"Well, when do you plan on sending the save-the-date?" Emily asked.

"Um, never, because it's insane to send out a save-the-date for a first birthday party."

"It is not _insane_ to give your guests ample time to plan for an event, Lorelai," Emily said. "And I need to know when _your_ party is so we can make sure it doesn't overlap with ours."

"Mom, you don't have to throw a party for him, we're having one," Lorelai said. "He only needs one party."

"Well, I know you're certainly not going to invite _our_ friends to the party _you're_ throwing," Emily said. "So it would seem that if we want to celebrate our only grandson with them, our only option is to throw our own party."

"But Mom - "

"Lorelai, you don't have to do one thing for this party," Emily cut her off. "You don't have to spend any money or spend any time organizing it. All you have to do is show up, eat some food, eat some cake, and graciously accept birthday gifts from our wealthy friends just to make your father and I happy. I'll even make it on a Friday evening, a time you'd be here at the house anyway, so you won't even have to come here outside of your normal routine. I don't know what you could possibly have to complain about."

Lorelai looked at Luke as she covered the mouthpiece. "She wants to throw her own party for Josh," she whispered. "And she's listing the reasons why I shouldn't be complaining."

Luke shrugged. "You're not gonna talk her out of it. Might as well just suck it up."

Lorelai sighed, and then removed her hand from the phone. "Okay, Mom, fine, throw him a party."

"Oh, wonderful, I'm glad you came around to the idea," Emily said in that cheerfully snarky tone she was so good at. "How does Friday the 23rd work, the day after his birthday?"

"Fine. Our party will probably be that weekend, we're not sure which day yet."

"Well, you should really get those invitations out soon," Emily told her. "I'll see you at dinner tomorrow."

"Bye, Mom." Lorelai hung up the phone and dropped the phone on her lap with a groan. "Ugh. Now we have a fancy party to go to along with the fun party. Yippee."

"I had a feeling that was coming," Luke said.

"At the very least, we'll get some money from her friends to put in his college fund," Lorelai said, trying to find the bright side to 4 hours of mingling with people she hardly knows.

"That's something," he agreed.

Lorelai groaned again and leaned back to lie flat on the porch. "Back to outdoor naptime."

. . . . .

. . . . .

On Sunday night, Luke pulled up in front of the airport and Jess was waiting by the curb. Luke was relieved to see him, glad he'd made it home safely. Jess had texted him when he got to California to let Luke know he'd arrived, but he hadn't heard from him since.

They greeted each other as Jess got into the car, and as they started driving home, Luke asked, "So, how was it?"

Jess shrugged. "It was fine."

"You guys got along?"

"Pretty much."

"What types of things did you do?"

"He showed me some of the sights," Jess replied. "He showed me his hot dog stand. I met his girlfriend and her kid and their 4 million pets."

"You guys talk and get to know each other? Or was it awkward silence all weekend?"

"It was a little awkward that first day," Jess admitted. "But then he just finally said that he doesn't really know how to be a father and that he's only recently started to figure out how to be an adult."

"And there's the Jimmy I remember," Luke said.

"He was up front about it, I give him credit for that," Jess said. "He didn't pretend to have his crap together."

"Did him saying that help break the ice?"

"Yeah. I told him that I'm not looking for someone to raise me, that I'm an adult and I just wanted to meet him. After that we both relaxed a little."

"Good. What'd you learn about him?"

Jess breathed out a deep breath. "Uh, let's see... he's lived in a lot of different states. He reads... has a lot a books. He has a pretty big vinyl collection... he definitely has better taste in music than you do."

Luke smirked. "Yeah, well, most people do, according to Lorelai."

"He loves his hot dog stand, and he's obsessed with the beach," Jess continued. "Never wants to leave it."

"You tell him about yourself? Let him get to know you?"

"I told him I've been living on my own for two years, that I have a job, I go to school," Jess said, and then he paused before continuing, "I told him that up until a few years ago, the only future I had was of being a guy who begs for money in the subway. That _you_ helped change that."

Luke looked over at him, surprised that he'd said that, but just calmly said, "You would've found your way eventually."

Jess shrugged. "Who knows. I could've turned out like Jimmy... not figuring out how to be adult until I was like 40 years old."

"But you didn't."

"But I could have." Jess was quiet for a moment as he stared out the window, watching the cars go by as they drove down the highway. Finally, he looked over at Luke. "I hated that my mom shipped me off to Stars Hollow."

Luke glanced over at him and joked, "You don't say."

"I hated leaving the city and going to the boondocks. I hated going to that stupid school with those annoying kids. I hated that you kept making me do things I didn't wanna do, that you kept making me try to be responsible."

Luke shrugged unapologetically. "It's what you needed."

"I get that now. At the time I hated it and I gave you a hard time, and now, I just... I don't know... I get it. I just wanted you to know that I get it." Jess uncomfortably turned away from him as he said, "And you know... thanks."

Luke couldn't help but smile. He felt a sense of pride every time he was reminded of how far Jess had come and how much he had matured over the past few years. "You're welcome."

Jess looked over and gave him an appreciative nod, and then looked out the side window again. "Okay, that's that. I'm starving. Can we stop somewhere for takeout? Preferably for something that doesn't have sprouts on it."

Luke looked over at him with a smile. "You got it."

. . . . .

. . . . .

On Wednesday night, Luke and Lorelai went to the town meeting with Josh. They were sitting in the back row so one of them could easily slip out with Josh if he was fussy. But he'd been content sitting on Luke's lap snacking on goldfish crackers and playing with Luke's watch.

Taylor went through the agenda pretty quickly, and he reminded everyone of the upcoming Memorial Day remembrance ceremony that would precede the summer kickoff picnic.

"And as always, we will be collecting donations to put toward the continued maintenance of the beautiful garden at the entrance of the cemetery that is dedicated to all of the fallen heroes from Stars Hollow," Taylor finished. He shuffled through some papers before declaring, "I have one final item... a piece of information came to my attention earlier today that I think everyone deserves to know."

Miss Patty groaned from the chair beside the podium. "Oh, Taylor, come on, you're blowing it way out of proportion."

Taylor turned to look at her. "Well, I think that's for the great townspeople of Stars Hollow to decide, and they should be given the chance to alter their behavior accordingly," Taylor replied, and then he turned back to face the crowd. "As some of you may be aware, a few weeks ago, a family moved into the Anderson house."

"Yeah, and they're really nice," Babette said, and several people murmured in agreement.

"The daughter is already signed up for dance classes," Miss Patty said. "She's very talented."

"I'm well aware that they seem like a respectable family," Taylor said. "However, we have received some information about them that I must share with you all for the safety of the town."

Lorelai glanced at Luke with wide eyes. "Are they fugitives on the run?"

"Could be," he whispered. "I thought I heard a news story about some fugitive surfers from Maine."

Lorelai giggled. "I told you, surfers are fascinating!"

Taylor took a deep breath and clutched the sides of the podium with both hands. "As some of you may know, they have family in the neighboring town of Woodbury. Well, it's just come to my attention that their family may have ties to the family of Hank, the town selectman of Woodbury. We're not exactly sure what those ties are yet, but we're looking into it further."

The crowd was silent for a moment before Lorelai finally said, "So?"

"Well, that means they may relay information about our town to Hank," Taylor explained. "Information we might not want Hank to know."

Luke narrowed his eyes. "Information about what? What kind of classified Stars Hollow intel could they possibly pass along?"

"Yeah, everything going on in this town is prominently posted on every public billboard _and_ the Stars Hollow website," Lorelai added.

"Yeah, Hank doesn't need spies telling him things, he can just take a walk through town and find out anything he needs to know," Bootsy said.

"Taylor, I told you, you're making this bigger than it needs to be," Miss Patty said. "Who cares if they might know Hank? Lots of people in this town know Hank." She paused a moment before a smile slowly appeared on her lips. "And some know Hank's brother."

Babette winked at her from the audience. "Some know Hank's brother _very well_."

Taylor jerked his head to look at Babette, and then looked back at Patty. "What does that mean?"

"Oh, nothing," Miss Patty replied, nonchalantly waving it off.

"Oh, it means something, and I will find out sooner or later, so you might as well just save me some time," Taylor said sternly. "What is it, Patty?"

"It was nothing, Taylor," Miss Patty said. "It was just a little fling a few years ago. No intel was shared, I promise."

"I heard there wasn't anything _little_ about that fling, if you know what I mean," Babette remarked, and laughter ran through the crowd.

"You got that right," Miss Patty confirmed with a wink, and the crowd reaction got louder.

Taylor banged his gavel on the podium. "All right, people, settle down. This is wildly inappropriate."

Lorelai smiled at Luke. "And you say town meetings are boring? This is amazing. I have to remember all of this to tell Rory."

"I will be keeping an eye on this new family, and I suggest all of you do the same," Taylor said. "And if they ask you any questions about the town that you think are suspicious or probing, you should let me know immediately. Meeting adjourned."

As the crowd began to stand up and leave, Lorelai looked at Luke. "When Josh and I chatted with Eric and Jenna at the park today, I hope I didn't accidentally give out classified Stars Hollow information."

"Think hard... did he ask you anything about our tax base?" Luke asked. "Or the estimated tourist revenue for the next 5 years?"

"Not yet, but now I'll be on alert." Lorelai smiled at Josh and patted his leg. "You were so good, buddy! You didn't even try to get down and crawl around while that man in the sweater kept talking and talking."

"Yeah, because he found Daddy's watch," Luke said, showing her the watch face covered in drool. "Thank God it's waterproof."

"The kid can't help himself, when something looks tasty, he just has to go for it. It's a relatable reflex." Lorelai heard her cell phone go off. "Oh, that's me." She pulled it out of her purse and flipped it open to read the text message. "It's from Rory. It says, _I'm at the diner._ "

"Good timing," Luke said.

Rory had worked late that evening and wasn't home in time to go to the meeting with them. She'd told them she'd meet them at the diner afterwards.

Luke and Lorelai walked outside to Josh's stroller parked by the door, and then headed over to the diner.

Rory was sitting at a table with a soda and a plate of fries. "Hey, guys," she greeted them. She had retrieved a wooden high chair from the storage room and placed it at the table for Josh.

"Look at that, Rory got you all set up with a chair," Lorelai told him. "Maybe she'll share some fries with you."

"Those aren't good for him," Luke interjected. "I'll go scramble him an egg." He started walking toward the kitchen.

Lorelai buckled Josh into the high chair. "Daddy prefers for you to have protein versus hydrogenated oils." She pulled a sippy cup out of her bag and placed it on the table in front of him. "Here's your apple juice." He reached for the handles of the cup as Lorelai sat down across from Rory and took a fry from her plate. "Okay. Focusing on my girl now... what's up?"

"Busy day," Rory replied. "I was shadowing a correspondent doing interviews for this human interest story. That's why I was late, we hit traffic on the way back from the last interview."

"What's the story about?" Lorelai asked as she broke off a piece of French fry and gave it to Josh.

"It's about this artist from Stamford who makes all these beautiful paintings out of recycled materials for hospitals and schools and nursing homes," Rory replied. "So we interviewed her and then went to some of the places displaying her art to see how people respond to it. They're really inspirational, positive pieces."

"Cool, that's a fun story," Lorelai said.

"Tomorrow I have to transcribe all the interviews, and hopefully I'll get to help write some of the story," Rory said. "Oh, and I have Friday and Monday off."

Lorelai raised an eyebrow. "You have a four-day weekend?"

Rory smirked and shook her head. "Nope, Monday is Memorial Day, so they gave us that day off, and then they gave us Friday off to make up for the fact that they want us to come in on Saturday and Sunday."

"Oh, plot twist."

"Yeah, it'll be a skeleton crew, so they want the interns to come in and help out. Which I don't mind, maybe we'll get to be a little more involved in things."

"Yeah, that would be good," Lorelai agreed.

"I have a regular shift on Saturday, but I took the later shift on Sunday night," Rory told her. "So I'll be there until 11, and I was thinking I might ask Grandma and Grandpa if I can stay over that night."

"They'll like that, they've been dying for a sleepover," Lorelai said. "You'll be home on Monday for the remembrance ceremony and the picnic?"

Rory nodded. "Yeah, I'll probably have breakfast with them, answer a hundred questions about Mark, and then come home."

Lorelai smiled. "At least you're prepared."

"What did I miss at the meeting?" Rory asked.

Lorelai's eyes widened. "Ooh, some good stuff!"

Lorelai started filling her in on the topics of the evening, and as she was finishing up, Luke returned with a paper plate of scrambled eggs and set it on the table.

"So, the new people are potentially spies who know Hank, and Miss Patty was hot and heavy with Hank's brother?" Rory asked, her eyes wide. "Man, this was one town meeting I shouldn't have missed."

"I know, it was pretty awesome," Lorelai said, smiling. "I think even Josh was enthralled."

"Josh was enthralled by my watch and nothing else," Luke reminded her.

"So are we not allowed to talk to the new people now?" Rory asked.

"Just not in front of Taylor," Luke replied, and then he asked Lorelai, "Do you want something before I sit down?"

"Yes, please... an ice cream sundae with vanilla and chocolate ice cream," Lorelai replied, and then she glanced toward the display of baked goods. "And like 20 cookies to go, if you have 'em. They'll stay fresh overnight, right?"

Luke cocked his head to the side. "We're not feeding the diner cookies to the construction crew."

"Well, what about a pie or two?" she suggested.

Luke rolled his eyes. "Forget it."

Lorelai frowned at him. "Fine. An ice cream sundae, please."

"Be right back."

. . . . .

. . . . .

Rory spent Sunday night at Emily and Richard's and had breakfast in the morning with them. She headed back to Stars Hollow in the afternoon to attend the Memorial Day gathering in the square with the rest of the family.

After the remembrance ceremony, Rory stayed with Josh in his stroller at a picnic table while Lorelai and Luke went to get some drinks. Gypsy and Patty were chatting in front of the drink table.

"Hey, guys," Lorelai greeted them. "Everyone staying out of trouble so far?"

"So far, but I've only had one cup of punch," Gypsy replied. "Check back in an hour."

"Will do," Lorelai replied, and she started ladling herself a cup of punch. Luke got himself a beer and a soda for Rory.

"How's the construction going?" Miss Patty asked. "Babette said there's a lot of activity over there."

"It's been a week of men and tools and loud noises and banging," Lorelai said.

Miss Patty raised an eyebrow. "Sounds sexy."

Lorelai smirked and added, "And walls being ripped down and dust everywhere and me taking Josh on a lot of walks to keep him away from all of the above. But it's been good, the crew is all really nice, so I don't mind having them around."

"They're really nice because you keep feeding them," Luke told her. "Even after I've asked you not to."

"They're guests in our house," Lorelai argued. "That's what you do to guests... it's called being hospitable."

"They're _paid_ guests," Luke replied. "We're paying them a hell of a lot to be there, and then we're wasting a ton of food on them. They can bring their own food to eat during the day."

"I want them to be happy and have a good time while they're there," Lorelai said. "I want our remodeling job to be memorable for them. Is that so wrong?"

"You should accidentally flash them," Miss Patty suggested. "That's much cheaper than the food, they'll appreciate it more, and I'm sure they'll find it memorable."

Luke glared at Miss Patty, and then looked at Lorelai. "Don't."

"Well, you did want me to stop with the food," Lorelai pointed out. "This could be a good alternative."

"What's the harm if they're just looking?" Miss Patty asked, and then she took a sip of her drink.

"Okay, no more punch for you," Luke told her, and then he led Lorelai away from them. "This town is crazy."

They headed back to the table, and found Rory and Josh had been joined by Sookie's family.

"Hey guys," Lorelai greeted them cheerfully. "Glad you made it."

"We were running a bit late," Sookie replied.

"My fault, watermelon emergency," Jackson added.

"It happens," Lorelai said understandingly.

"The boys are already having fun together," Sookie said. She'd parked Davey's stroller next to Josh's, and they were interacting and trying to grab each other's toys.

Lorelai smiled. "They're so cute."

"Looks like the food's ready," Jackson said, eyeing the people starting to flock toward the food tables.

"You guys can go get food, I'll wait with the boys," Luke offered.

Luke stayed at the table with the babies while everyone went to wait in line for food. After a few minutes, everyone returned to the table except Lorelai.

"We just ran into the new family," Rory told Luke. "Mom was chatting with them by the food, and I abandoned her because I'm hungry." She held up her plate of food. "It looks so good."

Luke smiled as he stood up from the table. "I'll go track her down." He walked through the crowd over to the buffet of food. He made his plate, and then found Lorelai chatting with Eric at the end of the tables. "Hey."

Eric smiled and extended his hand. "Luke, hi. Good to see you."

Luke shook his hand. "You, too."

"I heard you guys finally made it into the diner last week," Lorelai said to Eric.

"Yeah, and Jenna has been asking since Friday to go back for another burger," Eric said. "She loved it. I think you've got a customer for life."

"Good, I'm glad she liked it," Luke said. "It was nice to finally meet her." He glanced around. "Is she here?"

"Yeah, Jenna was begging for a drink, so they headed that way," Eric said as he pointed toward the drink table. He saw his wife and daughter surrounded by a group of people. "And it looks like they got cornered into another Q and A session about where we're from, what brought us to Stars Hollow, and who we know in Woodbury."

Lorelai gave him a sympathetic look. "Has that been happening a lot?"

"Yeah. We've noticed that people really like to ask probing questions here," he replied.

"Welcome to Stars Hollow, where you are stripped away of any rights to privacy," Lorelai said. "But on the plus side, we have a lot of festivals with great food."

Eric smiled. "Yeah, they suck you in with the promise of parties around that quaint gazebo, but little do you know what you're really in for." He shrugged and added, "It's okay, though... everyone's at least polite while they're invading our privacy, so it's not a big deal."

"Have you met Miss Patty yet?" Luke asked.

"Oh, yeah, Jenna's dance teacher," Eric replied, and he glanced around nervously before asking, "Does she hit on everyone or just the new people?"

"Everyone," Luke and Lorelai replied at the same time.

"She does pay extra attention to fresh meat though, so you coming into town is gonna distract her from us regulars for a little while," Luke said. "Thanks for that."

Eric smiled and saluted him. "Taking one for the team, you're welcome."

Lorelai looked at Luke. "Oh, hon, we were just talking about the remodel, and Kelly was saying that they have the double sinks in their bathroom just like we're getting."

"Oh, yeah, we had a single sink at the old house, and the upgrade to two has been pretty life-changing," Eric added.

Lorelai smiled at Luke. "Life-changing, Luke. Our lives might _change_ with two sinks."

"Sounds intense," Luke said.

"I warned you," Eric said, and then he glanced back toward the drink table. "I better go try to rescue them."

"Yeah, and we should get back to the table," Luke said. "Josh was hungry."

"Oops, yeah, we better go feed him," Lorelai said, and then she looked at Eric. "We'll see you around. If not today, then I'm sure we'll run into you again at the park or something this week."

"Yeah, maybe... we're there a lot," Eric said, smiling. "See you guys."

Luke nodded toward him. "See ya."

As Luke and Lorelai headed back toward their table, they saw Kirk walking toward them with a plate of food. "Hey, guys," he greeted them as he walked past.

"Hey, Kirk," Lorelai distractedly said.

"Hi, Kirk," Luke echoed.

They walked a few more feet, and then abruptly stopped and looked at each other with confusion before spinning around. "Kirk!" Lorelai called.

As Kirk turned around to face them, they rushed over to him. "What the hell are you doing here?" Luke asked. "You're supposed to be in Maine."

"Did you get kicked out of the faire?" Lorelai asked, and then she gasped. "Oh, God, did you light something on fire?" She clutched her hand to her chest. "I feel like you either started a fire or caught on fire or set someone else on fire accidentally."

"Nothing happened with fire," Kirk said. "My Ren Faire homies have two days off so I took a train home to see Lulu. I'm going back tomorrow."

Luke breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, okay. Everything okay up there?"

"Yeah, I am _killing_ it in the jewelry sales," Kirk declared. "And not only that, I've started helping Liz make some of it. You wouldn't believe how skilled I am. She says it's because I have a delicate touch."

"Oh, we believe it," Lorelai confirmed. "And how are Liz and TJ doing?"

"They're good, they're taking it easy just like Luke told them to," Kirk replied.

"Good," Luke said. "You make sure they call me if they need anything, okay?" Luke patted him on the shoulder. "Thanks again for helping them."

"Sure thing." Kirk leaned in toward Lorelai and lowered his voice, "We're still on for our agreement when I get back, right?"

"Yes, Kirk," she replied, cringing as she looked at Luke to see if he'd heard that. "We'll see you later."

As Kirk walked away, Luke followed Lorelai toward their table. "What was that about?" Luke asked her. "What agreement?"

"Come on, a hungry baby is waiting for us," Lorelai said, urging him along.

"What agreement?" Luke asked louder.

They reached the table and Lorelai put her plate down. Luke put his plate next to hers and then said to the table, "We'll be right back. Feel free to give Josh some of our food." He took Lorelai's hand and pulled her away from the table for some privacy. "What agreement?"

Lorelai grimaced as she looked up into Luke's eyes. "You're not gonna like it."

"Clearly. That's why you didn't tell me and aren't telling me right now. Spill it."

Lorelai took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly. "Well, in exchange for helping out Liz, Kirk asked for a small favor in return."

"Which is what?" Luke prompted her.

"He wants to sleep with me in a bed for one night only," Lorelai said, wrinkling her nose apologetically.

Luke's eyes widened. "What?!"

"Literally sleep, nothing sexual... we'd be fully dressed," Lorelai quickly continued. "We'd even have a wall of pillows between us. He's never slept in the same bed as Lulu overnight and he wants to practice before he does it."

Luke felt his blood pressure quickly rising. "What the hell, Lorelai?! You agreed to that?"

"I wanted to help Liz, and that's what he wanted in return."

"I'm gonna kill him," Luke said angrily, and started looking around for him. "Where is he?"

Lorelai grabbed his arm and pulled him back to face her. "Luke, come on, what was I supposed to do? Say no to that request and make him go with something else that _didn't_ involve me in bed with him?"

"That's _exactly_ what you were supposed to do!" Luke exclaimed, smacking the palm of his hand against his forehead.

"Even if it was some other favor that might involve _you_ in some way?"

"Yes! Literally any other suggestion would've been better than you getting into a bed with him!"

Lorelai breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay, whew, good. Because when he suggested the bed thing, I told him that you wouldn't be okay with it, and then he came up with another idea that I agreed to."

Upon hearing that she had rejected the bed idea, Luke felt his rage calming down into confusion. "Wait, what? What other idea?"

"He wants to create a new menu item for the diner, and you have to put it up on your specials board for two weeks," Lorelai explained, and then she smiled through gritted teeth as she waited for his reaction.

Luke groaned and rubbed his face with his hands. "You agreed to something that involves my business?"

"Well, it was either that or let him sleep next to _my_ business," Lorelai said, gesturing down the front of her body. "It's not such a big deal when you hear what the alternative was, right? You throw something on the board for a few weeks and that's it... simple."

Luke groaned again. "What if it's something weird that scares people away?"

"Come on, he eats like a 6 year old, how weird could it actually be?"

"This is _Kirk_ ," Luke reminded her. "It could be pretty damn weird."

"Okay, maybe, but a weird dish on the board in exchange for him helping out your sister doesn't seem like that bad of an exchange, does it?" Lorelai asked him.

Luke inhaled a deep breath and exhaled it slowly before muttering, "I guess not."

Lorelai pushed herself up on her tiptoes and kissed him. "See, I knew you'd come around." She took his hand and started pulling him back to the table.

Luke sighed. "I'm surrounded by insanity."

Lorelai looked back at him over her shoulder and grinned. "And you love it."

. . . . .

. . . . .

On Wednesday afternoon, Babette watched Josh while Lorelai ran out to get a haircut. As Lorelai walked out of the salon, she called Babette to check in on things.

"He fell asleep in his stroller on a walk, so we're just sitting outside," Babette told her.

"I hope he wasn't a handful," Lorelai said. "He can be a little energetic in the afternoon."

"No, he was fine. He liked crawling around from gnome to gnome checking 'em all out," Babette said. "I think you've got a gnome-lover on your hands."

Lorelai smiled. "I hope so. Men who respect gnomes are the keepers."

"You got that right," Babette said. "Listen, I don't have any plans this afternoon... Morey's off visiting his parents for the evening, so you take your time getting home, honey. I'm just watching the construction crew... some of these guys aren't too bad to look at."

"You should come over for dinner tonight if Morey's not home," Lorelai suggested. "Luke's making this chicken broccoli rice casserole thing that's delicious, and there's more than enough to go around."

"You sure I won't be imposing?" Babette asked.

"Not at all," Lorelai said. "I'm gonna make a quick stop at the diner for coffee, and then I'll be home. Can I bring you anything?"

"No, I'm good, doll," Babette replied, and then watched a couple of construction crew members carry pieces of drywall across the lawn. "I've got some iced tea and a good view."

"Okay, I'll see you soon."

Lorelai hung up the phone and drove to the diner. It was pretty empty inside, and she sauntered up to Luke at the counter. "So, I have a few minutes for coffee and a conversation with my husband without having to constantly check to make sure a tiny human is not shoving a choking hazard into his mouth or trying to systematically remove the electrical socket covers." She exhaled a deep breath and leaned across the counter to kiss him. "Hi."

Luke smiled. "Hey. Your hair looks good."

Lorelai smiled and ran her fingers through it. "Thanks." She sat down on a stool. "They cut off a few inches... my head feels lighter."

"I bet." Luke poured her a cup of coffee and placed the mug in front of her. "So... any conversation topics in mind for your impromptu coffee and husband chat date?"

"Well, I invited Babette over for dinner," she told him. "Morey's out of town, so I thought it might be a nice way to thank her for watching Josh."

Luke nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Good idea."

"And I think I'm leaning towards having Josh's party at the inn," Lorelai said. "Definitely the inn."

"Uh huh," Luke said, smiling amusedly. "Yesterday it was _definitely_ the square. How many more times are you going to change your mind?"

"Probably 4," Lorelai replied. "So I need to pick a place and buy some invitations and get them sent out so I can't go back and forth in my head anymore."

"Yes, you do," Luke agreed.

Lorelai gasped. "Ooh, it could be a _traveling_ party! We can start in the square and then move to the inn, like bar hopping."

Luke rolled his eyes. "I don't think we should _bar hop_ for our kid's first birthday party."

"Well, it's not actual bars, so it's not inappropriate," she pointed out.

"Just pick one place," Luke told her. "Go with the inn, I think it'll be good there. Especially since... you know... " His voice trailed off.

"Since what?"

Luke shrugged a little. "Well, since you don't know how many more opportunities there'll be to run your own party there. Once you guys open your own inn, you'll probably have them there instead."

Lorelai's eyes widened a little as she thought about that. "Oh, yeah, I guess." She frowned, adding, "That's kind of depressing to think about. Way to put a damper on coffee/husband time."

"Sorry," he said, and he gestured toward the donuts. "Cheer you up with a donut?"

"Yes, please." He retrieved one and put it on a plate in front of her. She took a bite and a sip of her coffee, and then said, "I have to tell Mia about Gran's money... about the three-year thing."

Luke gave her a sympathetic look. "That's gonna be hard for you, I'm sure."

"Yeah. And she already knows that it's our eventual plan, but she should probably know that there's a time frame on it now." Lorelai sighed a little. "And then she's probably gonna sell the inn, which is hard to think about. Who knows what'll happen to it. It might not even be an inn anymore. It might look completely different."

"No matter what happens to it, it's always gonna be special. You'll have a lot of great memories of it."

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, I know." She shook her head. "Okay, let's not think about that yet." She took a sip of her coffee. "What else is on your mind?"

"Not much. I have to remember to call Liz later and check on them. They're not allowed to use their cell phones during the faire, so I can usually only get her at night or early morning."

"I will remind you," Lorelai said.

"If you have time, maybe start a shopping list," Luke said. "I'll stop at Doose's tomorrow after work."

"Okay." Lorelai broke off a piece of donut and popped it into her mouth. "That reminds me, we desperately need to clean out the fridge," she said. "I can't remember the last time we went through it, but I have a feeling we're about 3 days away from some sort of foul odor."

"Yeah, I know, we'll try to tackle that this weekend," Luke said. "And laundry... we're behind on that, too."

"Wow, we've been slacking on our to-do list," Lorelai remarked.

"Well, the top of the to-do list is to keep a small human alive, so as long as we're checking that one off on a daily basis, slacking on the others doesn't matter as much."

"Good point," Lorelai agreed, and she finished her last bit of coffee. "Speaking of which, I better get home to him. I will see you in..." She reached across the counter and turned Luke's wrist toward her to check his watch. "... 2 hours."

"Okay." Luke leaned across the counter and kissed her. "Bye."

"Bye."

. . . . .

. . . . .

On Friday night, Luke arrived home from the diner a little later than expected, and quickly changed for Friday night dinner. Lorelai and Josh were ready to go, and Rory would be meeting them there right from her internship. The construction crew was already gone for the weekend, and as soon as Luke was dressed, they jumped in the car and started the drive to Hartford.

They spent a few minutes talking about the remodel and some of questions they wanted to ask Tom on Monday. Once that discussion was finished, Lorelai asked, "How was work?"

"Not bad, there was a big group that came in just as I was leaving," Luke replied. "That's why I was late, I was helping Lane get them all settled at the tables."

"Group of teens or adults?"

"Adults."

"Good, that means they might actually tip her well," Lorelai replied. "She said the big groups of teens usually don't. You should work on improving that... put up a sign or something."

"Uh, I think that's up to their parents to teach 'em, not the diner owner," Luke replied.

Lorelai turned toward the backseat. "Josh, don't forget to tip your servers well, and always be polite to them," she said, and then said to Luke, "Might as well start early."

"Yup," he agreed. "What did you guys do this afternoon?"

"Well, we sat outside for awhile and he played with his new tools," Lorelai replied. That morning, the construction workers had given Josh a toy toolbox with plastic tools inside.

Luke smiled. "He loves it. That was a cute gift."

Lorelai smiled and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, those gruff, macho guys are surprisingly really good with him. Well, except for the foul language, but we're working on that."

"Did you take him for a walk?"

"Yeah. We ran into a family of squirrels who seemed to be having a nice little party until they were scared away by Mrs. Butler walking by with her mean poodle."

Luke rolled his eyes. "That stupid dog hates everything that breathes."

"So does Mrs. Butler, it seems," Lorelai said. "And then we saw Eric and Jenna playing out in their front yard, so we stopped and visited for a few minutes."

Luke glanced over at her, and then back at the road. "Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah. Jenna loves trying to make Josh laugh. He seems to like her, too... she'll get down on her knees and crawl around on the grass, and he'll crawl after her to try to catch her. It's really cute."

"Sounds cute," Luke agreed.

"Oh, and Eric showed me their master bathroom, and we definitely made the right choice going with the life-changing double sinks. They each have their own sink and counter space, and can both be getting ready at the same time without getting in each other's way. I'm excited about it."

Luke nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it'll be nice to have more room... especially with all the stuff you have."

Lorelai smirked. "Yeah, with a gazillion things on my side, and your 3 regularly used toiletries on your side, it's going to be super unbalanced."

"I'm sure your stuff's going to spill over onto my side eventually and it'll start to balance out."

Lorelai smiled. "Well, at least you recognize that and are prepared for it to happen," she said, patting him on the shoulder. "After that, we walked the block until Joshy fell asleep, and then we came back home. He has trouble sometimes falling asleep with the construction noise, but once he's actually knocked out, he usually does pretty well at sleeping through it."

"Yeah, hopefully that'll last all summer."

"Yup," Lorelai agreed.

They were quiet for a few moments, and Luke thought about something she'd said. He glanced over at her and asked, "So, wait, Eric showed you a picture of their sinks, or you actually saw them in person?"

"In person," Lorelai replied. "He asked if I wanted to check 'em out, so we went into the house for a minute. Oh, and remember that weird orange color in the Anderson's dining room that we'd see through the front picture window and occasionally mock? They spruced that up, it's a nice maroon color now."

Luke didn't hear the part about the dining room, he was still focused on the bathroom. "So... I'm guessing you had to go through their bedroom to get to their master bathroom, right?"

"Yeah. It's connected."

"So, he basically invited you up to his bedroom," Luke deduced.

Lorelai looked over at him with confusion. "He invited me to see the bathroom, and we quickly walked through the bedroom to get to it... all 4 of us. The kids came, too. We didn't even stop in the bedroom. What's the problem?"

Luke shrugged. "No problem. I mean, I personally wouldn't invite another woman upstairs for any reason unless you were home, but that's just me. Some guys are different."

Lorelai narrowed her eyes at him. She honestly couldn't tell if he was joking about it or was actually upset. "It was completely innocent," she said. "He remembered we were talking about the double sinks on Monday and he offered to show me theirs... it was a nice gesture."

"Yeah, but just because it's a nice gesture doesn't mean it's appropriate," Luke said, and then he added, "And why did he think you needed to see them in person anyway? You've seen double sinks before, it's not like they're some rare piece of art or something."

Lorelai raised an eyebrow when she realized that he actually _was_ upset. "I won't go into anyone's bedroom again without you if that's gonna bug you," she calmly offered. "But there's literally zero reason to be jealous here."

Luke narrowed his eyes at her. "I'm not jealous."

"It looks like jealousy," Lorelai replied. "And it's not the first time I've seen a hint of it. When I mention running into him and Jenna at the park, or seeing them in front of their house, you seem to react, Luke. I see it on your face, like you're making a mental note of it or something... I don't know why."

"It's not jealousy. I just think it's a little weird that you've run into him like 6 times in the past few weeks without me," Luke said. "You don't think that's a little coincidental?"

"He's out of work and home all day with his kid," Lorelai reminded him. "I can't help that he spends time outside with his daughter around the same time I'm outside with our son. It's not planned. If you were taking Josh for walks in the afternoon instead of me, you'd be the one running into him."

"Just because it's not planned on your side doesn't mean it's not planned on his," Luke pointed out.

Lorelai snickered. "Oh, my God. This is sounding very Lifetime movie-ish, hon. So, now he strategically spends time outside waiting for me to walk by, and also tries to go to the park when he thinks I'll be there because he's out to seduce me?"

"Who knows? He could be, you don't know anything about him."

"He's nice, he's harmless," Lorelai said. "I mean, you've met the guy... you _like_ the guy! You get along good with him!" She shook her head in disbelief. "I have no idea why you're suddenly picking a fight about him."

" _I'm_ not picking a fight, I'm trying to have a discussion," he replied. " _You're_ the one who's overreacting and turning it into a fight."

Lorelai scoffed. " _I'm_ turning it into a fight?"

"Yeah. I'm trying to tell you how I feel about something and you're getting all defensive," Luke said.

"Okay, well, I'm just confused about why you feel that way because he's been nothing but polite and respectful to both of us," Lorelai said. "And even if he _is_ totally into me and _is_ laying the groundwork for some sort of torrid affair... that doesn't mean I'm just gonna go along with it and rip my clothes off for him." She cocked her head to the side. "Or do _you_ think I might?"

Luke exhaled a sigh and shook his head. "Don't turn this into a trust issue... that's not what this is. I'm allowed to trust you _and_ still question a situation. You've done the same thing. What about when you confronted Carrie at Liz's wedding?"

"Oh, come on!" Lorelai exclaimed, throwing her hands up in frustration. "Seriously? Let's look at the two situations... you're upset because I casually chat with a guy about the weather and bathroom sinks, and you're comparing it to me getting annoyed at a woman who constantly touches and flirts with you _right in front of me._ A woman who has made it blatantly clear that she wants to sleep with you and is actively trying to achieve that goal."

"Well, if you trust me and know I'm not gonna do anything with her, why would you be upset? If you're allowed to have a reaction to that situation, why can't I have a reaction to this one?"

Lorelai huffed out a breath. "Because I have a legitimate reason to be annoyed at someone you interact with, I've seen the flirting with my own damn eyes. You don't have that for me... you have no reason to be jealous of this guy any more than you do to be jealous of Kirk or Andrew or any other man in town that I talk to."

"I didn't say that I did," Luke said. "I asked a couple of questions and you immediately turned it into a jealousy argument."

"Okay, yeah, this is all my fault," Lorelai said sarcastically. "You brought it up, but all the blame's on me."

Luke exhaled a heavy sigh, but he didn't respond. There wasn't a point. They were both getting worked up and they both needed to calm down for a few minutes.

They drove the rest of the way in silence. Luke parked the car in Emily and Richard's driveway and turned off the engine, but neither of them moved to get out of the car.

Finally, while staring out the passenger side window looking toward the house, Lorelai said, "I don't want you to come in."

"What?"

"I'll tell them that Josh was cranky and you took him home," Lorelai said.

"Why?"

Lorelai finally looked at him. "Why? Because we're in the middle of an argument and I don't need us being awkward in there in front of Rory and my parents. So I want you to go home with Josh, and I'll come home later with Rory."

"Why can't we just talk it out now instead of dragging it out all night?"

"Because they're inside waiting for us. We can't just sit out here hashing things out for God knows how long."

"Lorelai -"

"Luke, please, can you just leave?" Lorelai sighed softly and covered her face with her hands. "It's easier if you just go home and we finish this later."

Luke inhaled a deep breath and then exhaled it slowly. He pursed his lips and squeezed his hands around the steering wheel. "Fine."

Lorelai got out of the car and opened the back door. She leaned in close to Josh and kissed him on the cheek. "I'll see you later, Joshy... I love you." Her gaze met Luke's, but she didn't say anything as she backed out of the car and shut the door.

Luke started the engine and watched her walk toward the house. He was hoping she'd change her mind, that she'd decide to walk back to the car. But when she arrived at the front door and he saw her reach for the doorbell, he knew that wasn't going to happen. With a sigh, he pulled out of the driveway to head back to Stars Hollow.

Lorelai paused before she actually rang the doorbell because a strong wave of guilt rushed through her. She turned around toward the driveway just in time to see the taillights disappear. She exhaled a sigh and muttered, "Shit, I screwed that up." They weren't exactly parting cordially - by her own doing, she recognized - and it would bother her all night.

She quickly pulled her cell phone from her purse and called Luke. It went straight to voicemail, so she knew his phone was either dead or turned off. She left a message, dropped her phone back into her purse, and then reluctantly put on a fake smile and rang the doorbell.

. . . . .

. . . . .

 **To be continued...**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

. . . . .

. . . . .

Luke started the drive back to Stars Hollow in a daze of disbelief and confusion and anger. He had tried to have a conversation with his wife, it somehow escalated into an argument, and instead of talking it out... _she asked him to leave._ He couldn't believe she had sent him home. No discussion about it, she just told him to go. The more he thought about it, the angrier he felt.

Meanwhile, Lorelai distractedly sat through drinks and dinner and dessert with her parents and Rory. She tried to converse and smile and make quips so everything seemed normal, but her conversation with Luke just kept running through her head. She was anxious about the follow-up discussion they'd have when she got home.

Later that evening, as soon as she and Rory walked out of the house after dinner, Rory said, "Okay, you have to tell me what's wrong."

Lorelai shrugged it off as she continued walking toward the car. "Nothing's wrong. Everything's fine."

Rory knew she was lying. She followed Lorelai to the car, and once they had both gotten in, she said, "Everything is _not_ fine, Mom. You may be able to fool Grandma and Grandpa, but not me."

Lorelai sighed, closed her eyes, and leaned her head back against the headrest. "I have such a headache."

"Come on, you're upset about something, I can tell," Rory pressed. "Is it Luke?"

Lorelai didn't say anything, and her failure to deny that it was Luke confirmed to Rory that it was.

"Okay, it's Luke," Rory deduced. "Now we're getting somewhere. What happened? Did you guys have a fight?"

Lorelai nodded.

"You wanna talk about it?"

Lorelai shrugged.

Rory stared at Lorelai for a moment, waiting for her to say something. When she didn't, she started the car and pulled out of the driveway. "Okay, well, I'm gonna be sitting right here next to you for the next half an hour or so, so if you do feel like talking about anything at all, I am very good at listening while I'm driving. Seriously, I could get a gold medal in the listening-while-driving Olympic event."

Lorelai smiled and glanced over at Rory. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Lorelai closed her eyes and they rode in silence for a few minutes. She thought it over and realized that talking out the situation with Rory before she talked again with Luke might actually help. Finally, she opened her eyes and said, "We had a fight on the way to dinner, and I didn't want things to be awkward in there, so I asked him not to come in... I sent him home with Josh."

Rory's eyes widened slightly. "Wow. What'd you guys argue about?" she asked, and then quickly added, "Sorry, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to... if it's personal or whatever."

"No, it's fine," Lorelai said. "Basically... he's a little paranoid about how I keep bumping into the new guy."

"The new guy?" Rory narrowed her eyes for a minute, trying to figure out who that was. "Oh, the new neighbor around the corner... what's his name? Eric?"

"Yeah. I've run into him and his daughter a couple of times when I've taken Josh on walks. Sometimes they're outside in front of their house, sometimes we see them at the park," Lorelai explained. "And for some reason, Luke thinks it's a little coincidental that I always see them around."

Rory narrowed her eyes with confusion. "Luke thinks it's unusual for you to go on walks in a small town and bump into people on more than one occasion? That's been happening literally since the day we moved here. And it's not your fault if you run into them... you can't control that."

"I know, but something about this is making him feel weird," Lorelai said. "Weird enough to bring it up to me and not just brush it off."

"Okay. So, how did it turn into a fight? Was he accusing you of something?"

"No. He was just trying to talk about it with me, and instead of being an understanding wife, I overreacted and kind of jumped on him a little too harshly." She sighed softly and shook her head disappointedly. "I was stupid. I feel bad. He's probably so mad at me right now."

"Okay, well, you can explain that to him," Rory said calmly. "Tell him that you realized you were too harsh, he'll appreciate you admitting it."

"Yeah." Lorelai nibbled on her bottom lip for a moment. "I don't want him to _not_ bring up stuff like that. If he feels weird about something, he should be able to tell me without me yelling at him. I don't know why I got all crazy."

"It's not because... you know... maybe..." Rory's voice trailed off and she exhaled a sigh. "I don't even know how to word the question without it sounding bad."

Lorelai eyed her curiously. "What are you trying to ask?"

"Well, I mean... did you react harshly because maybe there _is_ something to hide that you don't want Luke to know, so you overcompensated in your reaction?" Rory asked.

Lorelai's eyes widened with shock at the question. "What?"

Rory quickly added, "I don't mean something major, I mean something little. Like maybe he flirted with you or complimented you and you felt weird about it, but you don't want Luke to know because you don't want him to freak out."

Lorelai adamantly shook her head. "No, absolutely not... there's nothing to hide at all."

"Okay, just checking." Rory was quiet as she thought things over, and then she asked, "Has Luke interacted with this guy much?"

"As far as I know, just a few times with me, and once at the diner. Why?"

"Well, I think part of the issue is that he doesn't know him well enough yet, he doesn't have a rapport with him like he does most people in town," Rory said. "He just knows you're hanging out with some new guy that he doesn't know anything about."

"I wouldn't even categorize it as hanging out, though. It's not like we're knocking back a couple brewskis and talking in depth about our lives. We have five minute generic conversations in passing with our kids right there. Why is that weird? It's like every other conversation with any other neighbor."

"He doesn't know him," Rory repeated with a shrug. "He doesn't know if he can trust him."

"Well, he knows he can trust _me_ ," Lorelai replied.

Rory glanced over at her and softly offered, "Sometimes situations aren't always that simple, you know?"

Lorelai was staring down at her purse in her lap, fiddling with the zipper. "I guess," she muttered.

"Okay, here's what I think," Rory declared. "Are you ready to hear my very wise words based on my 19 years of life experiences?" She was trying to sound upbeat and encouraging to help counterbalance Lorelai's less-than-cheerful disposition.

"Yup."

"I think the more you have these little chats with this guy, the more it might seem to Luke like you two are becoming friends. Even if you're _not_ , that's what it might look like to Luke. So, I think you just need to put yourself in his shoes for a minute... let me give you an alternate scenario."

"Okay."

"Imagine if Luke was constantly running into the wife out in public and it seemed like he was starting up some sort of friendship with _her_ , this woman you didn't really know. Wouldn't you want to know more about this woman? You might not be _jealous_ of her, exactly, but you might be curious about her, right? Even though you trust Luke, you might feel the need to casually mention to him, 'oh, hey, what's up with this lady you keep bumping into?' You know, just like he brought it up to you tonight?"

Lorelai inhaled a deep breath and exhaled it slowly as she thought it over. "I guess, maybe," she admitted. "And I probably wouldn't love it if he went into her bedroom with her."

Rory narrowed her eyes. "What?"

"Nothing."

. . . . .

. . . . .

They arrived home and walked quietly into the dark house. Josh was asleep in the crib, and Luke was in bed, lying on his side under the covers. As Lorelai walked toward the bed, Rory went to her bedroom to give them some privacy to talk.

Lorelai slipped off her heels and sat on the edge of the bed. "Luke, are you awake?" she whispered.

"Yup," he curtly whispered back.

"Can we talk?" she whispered.

"Nope."

His response surprised her, and she narrowed her eyes. "No? Why not?"

"Because I'm pissed at you."

Lorelai stared at him for a moment before asking, "And you'd rather go to bed angry at 9:30 on a Friday night than talk to me?"

"Yup."

He was facing away from her, and she gently placed her hand on his back. "Luke, come on," she said. "You're not supposed to go to sleep angry. It's like the number one cliché of the relationship Gods."

Luke rolled over to face her and harshly whispered, "If you're allowed to get mad at me and make me leave your parents' house because you don't feel like dealing with it, then I'm sure as hell allowed to get mad at you and go to sleep when _I_ don't feel like dealing with it."

Lorelai threw up her hands. "I'm sorry, I didn't know what else to do!" she whispered at him.

Luke brought his finger to his lips and hushed her. "Shh. He just fell asleep."

"If you came in, we would've been snippy with each other all night and my parents would have picked up on it," she insisted. "We don't need them knowing our personal issues."

"Yeah, much better to send your husband and child away," Luke sarcastically countered, still speaking in a harsh whisper. "Without even saying goodbye to one of them."

Lorelai exhaled a soft sigh. "Come on, Luke... I'm sorry, okay? I felt horrible for that... I called you right after you left to tell you that. Can we just talk it out, please?"

He rolled back onto his side to face away from her. "Go to sleep, Lorelai."

Lorelai stood up from the bed with a frustrated sigh. "Fine."

She grabbed a pair of pajamas from the dresser in the foyer, and then headed to the bathroom to change. She brushed her teeth and then walked to Rory's room and tapped lightly on the door.

"Come in," Rory answered.

Lorelai pushed open the door and saw Rory in her bed reading. "Is there room in that bed for two?" Lorelai asked.

Rory moved over and patted the mattress next to her. Lorelai stepped into the room and shut the door behind her.

. . . . .

. . . . .

Lorelai had a hard time falling asleep, and it felt like she'd just finally dozed off when she heard Josh crying in the morning. She climbed out of Rory's bed and headed to the living room, and saw Luke getting Josh out of the crib. She stopped at the entrance of the living room and nervously folded her arms across her chest.

"Hi," Lorelai hesitantly greeted him, testing the waters to see if they were still cold.

Luke turned around and looked at her, and he calmly replied, "Hi."

The waters seemed to be lukewarm, and she felt relieved.

As Luke brought Josh over to the couch to change his diaper, Lorelai grabbed an outfit for him from the dresser. She walked over to the couch and handed Luke the outfit, and he gave her a nod of thanks.

Lorelai leaned down and kissed Josh's cheek. "Morning, baby," she said softly, and she grinned when he smiled up at her. "Oh, you're happy today. You must've slept well. I'm glad someone did."

She took a step back as Luke changed him. When he was done, he picked him up from the couch and turned to face Lorelai. She offered her hands out and Josh reached for her, and she took him into her arms and hugged him to her chest.

Lorelai looked at Luke over the baby's head. "Can we talk now?" she asked him. "Please? Hopefully calmly."

Luke nodded. "I'll get him a bottle. Maybe take him out to the porch and put him in the stroller. We can sit out there and talk without having to chase after him."

Lorelai went outside and got Josh situated in his stroller parked next to the porch bench. Luke came out with a bottle and offered it to Josh, and waited for his little hands to grip it. He leaned back in his stroller and started to drink it, and Luke sat down next to Lorelai on the bench.

"He's so good at holding it himself now," Lorelai said. "Now that we're starting to wean him from them, he decides to become a bottle-holding expert."

"Yeah. I remember when he wanted nothing to do with holding it... he just wanted to relax and be fed."

They watched Josh for a moment, and then Lorelai looked at Luke, took a deep breath, and exhaled it slowly. "So..."

Luke rubbed his temple as he looked at her. "So..."

"Obviously, I don't like what happened last night," Lorelai said.

"Me, either. Any of it."

"Well, where should we start?" she asked.

"We should start at the end," Luke said. "Before we get into why the fight started, let's talk about how it ended."

"Okay."

"I didn't like the way you sent me home from your parents' house," Luke told her, shaking his head slightly. "Yes, I understand _why_ you did it, I get your reasoning, and I left because that's what you wanted... but you practically commanding me to leave in the middle of a fight isn't how we work things out. We needed to both decide what the next step was, not just you."

Lorelai nodded understandingly. "I know."

"We could've called your parents and told them we were running late so we could talk more in the car," Luke continued, and he started ticking off more options on his fingers. "We could've went in and asked Rory to watch Josh while we talked in your dad's study. We could've blown off dinner altogether and gone home to talk - sure, your mom might've gotten snippy about that, but who cares? Or maybe - just maybe - you could have _asked_ if I thought it was a good idea for me to go home so we could talk later. We should've discussed the options and arrived at a decision together instead of you dictating what happened next."

Lorelai nodded again as she apologetically said, "I know, I get it, I'm sorry... I know I didn't handle that right. I realized that right away and I called you after you pulled away to apologize, but your phone was off."

Luke recalled her saying that last night, but he was too mad for it to really register. "You really called me after I left?"

"Yes." Lorelai gestured into the house. "Go check your phone, I left a message."

"It's dead." Luke exhaled a deep sigh and rubbed his forehead. "But if it wasn't, I probably would've gotten your call and maybe I wouldn't have spent the whole night being so angry."

"Maybe," Lorelai agreed. "But I'm sorry I did it in the first place, I mean it... lesson learned. We need to decide things together."

Luke nodded. "Thank you."

Lorelai was quiet for a moment, and then hesitatingly asked, "Now... can I air a similar grievance about the ending?"

"Yeah."

Lorelai gently clenched her fists in her lap. "I get so frustrated when you clam up and refuse to talk to me. Like, _so_ frustrated... trying to sit through _Magnolia_ levels of frustrated. I came home last night wanting to resolve things and you completely shut me out."

"Yeah, but that was what needed to happen for it to _not_ turn into an even bigger argument," Luke told her. "Because I was angry all night and if we had talked last night, it would've been a lot of yelling and it wouldn't have gone well. I knew that and I was trying to stop that from happening. I needed to sleep on it to cool down."

"You could've explained that to me," Lorelai pointed out. "Instead of just being short with me, you could've said that you needed time to calm down, that we'd talk tomorrow... _something_ other than just telling me to go to bed."

Luke took a moment and considered her viewpoint, and he nodded. "You're right, I'm sorry," he said sincerely. "I take responsibility for that, I should've handled that better."

"Thank you." She sighed and gestured between the two of them. "I guess we both had our share of non-shining moments last night."

"Yeah, we did," he agreed.

Lorelai looked over at Josh to make sure he was still okay with his bottle, and then looked back at Luke. "So, we should get to the original matter at hand."

"Yeah. And let's start with the fact that I brought up how _I_ was feeling, and you turned it into me being jealous and not trusting you, and that's not true," Luke said, shaking his head. "I can trust you a hundred percent and still feel off about a situation. You have to understand that."

Lorelai nodded understandingly. "I know... I do. I get it."

"Because I _do_ trust you a hundred percent," he added.

"I know that, too," she confirmed. "And I want you to bring things up when you feel weird, I want you to talk about those things with me."

Luke cocked his head to the side skeptically. "But are you gonna attack me when I bring them up?"

"No, I won't," she replied, shaking her head.

"I don't want to be a couple that avoids things and doesn't talk about them," he said. "Once you go there, it's hard to come back."

"I know, and I overreacted last night, I know that. It should've been a calmer discussion, not an argument. So, let's talk it out now..." She gestured to him with both hands. "You have the floor... go ahead."

Luke looked down at his hands and rubbed them together for a moment. He exhaled a deep breath and then turned to look at her. "The bottom line is that there's this new guy I barely know that you're always interacting with, he's inviting you into his house - and it sets off a flag," Luke said. "Not a huge flag, but a little flag."

"So, not like a bright flashing red light type of flag, but more like a... 'hm, this is interesting, I'm gonna keep my eye on that situation' type of flag?" Lorelai suggested.

"Yeah, exactly. Because even if he's the nicest guy in the world, all I see on paper is a guy _I don't know_ trying to spend a lot of time with my wife, and that's something I'm gonna be aware of."

"Okay, I get that... but remember, he's not _trying_ to spend time with me," Lorelai calmly corrected him. "We just run into each other completely casually... our routines overlap a little sometimes and we see each other and chat for a few minutes. He's a nice guy. You've _seen_ that he's a nice guy."

Luke nodded. "Yeah, he is... he seems like a nice guy," he admitted.

"The way he is in front of you is _exactly_ the way he is when you're not around," Lorelai told him. "Friendly and easygoing and completely innocent."

Luke looked at her for a moment before asking, "So, you honestly don't think he's..." His voice trailed off because he wasn't quite sure how to finish that sentence. "I mean, he doesn't seem like he's..."

"He seems pretty content with his own wife and isn't after yours," Lorelai interjected. "He hasn't done anything to make me feel weird. No flirting. No touching. No staring. Nothing at all. Frankly, his behavior is almost offensive. What, does he think I'm hideous or something?" she joked. "Miss Patty gives me sexier looks than this guy."

Luke snorted a little laugh at that, and then noticed that Josh was done with his bottle. He gave him a few toys that were in the bottom of the stroller, and then sat back down next to Lorelai.

He shrugged. "I don't know, maybe I'm being crazy."

"You're not being crazy," she said as she patted his knee. "You're just so incredibly in love with me that it makes you paranoid sometimes."

"Yup," he agreed. "Guilty."

Lorelai smiled. "Look, I get how you feel, I do. I'd probably feel the same if the situation was reversed. If you were always running into Kelly, it might be something that was on my radar and I'd want to get it off my radar. So let's figure out how to keep it off your radar."

"Okay. Let's figure it out."

Lorelai thought it over for a few moments before she said, "Well, I mean, the first option is obviously that I quit my job and seclude myself to the house at all times so that I can easily avoid this man and all men in general for the rest of my life."

Luke smiled because he knew she was joking, but he still felt the need to state, "I'm not telling you to avoid anyone."

"I know."

"I know you know, I'm just saying," he said. "So... what's the next option?"

"Well, the second option is that we continue living our lives as we normally do in this very small town where we can't control who we run into, and we keep trusting each other, and we keep talking to each other," Lorelai continued. "Which I know sounds like we basically do nothing and keep things as they are, but..." She held up three fingers. "I have three side notes to add to that option."

"Which are?"

"One, I think you need to interact with him more yourself," Lorelai suggested. "Get to know him a little. I mean, when you've run into him, you two have gotten along really well. You're easy to talk to, he's easy to talk to... you guys could be friends."

"Maybe," he said with a shrug, and then admitted, "He does seem cool... except for the whole 'inviting my wife to his bedroom' thing."

Lorelai smirked and poked him on the chest. "Completely innocent."

"I know," Luke said, smiling. "I'm just kidding."

"I know." Lorelai scooted closer to him on the bench and put her hands on his shoulders. "Number 2, you should constantly remind yourself that I will one hundred percent tell you if this guy - or any other guy - suddenly stops being Mr. Rogers and turns into Mr. McFlirty." She cocked her head to the side as she added, "Even though I do have concerns about what you'd do to them and if you'd end up in jail."

Luke smirked. "I'm not violent."

"Not yet," Lorelai replied, smiling at him. She ran her hands over the scruff on his cheeks, letting her thumbs move up and down the course stubble. She looked him in the eyes as she said, "And number three... you need to remember that you are _it_ for me, Luke. You're _it_ , you're everything I need and want in this world. You do know that, right? I feel like sometimes you forget that."

Luke smiled. He did know that, but hearing her say it out loud made him feel good. He leaned in closer and they shared a kiss. As they separated, he whispered, "I know. And that goes both ways."

Lorelai nodded. "I know. So, let's remind each other of that more often."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and they hugged for a few moments. The stress and tension they'd felt just minutes ago faded away as they calmly embraced.

When they separated, Lorelai brought his hand into her lap and squeezed it, and then gently stroked his palm. "So, let's work on you getting to know this dude a little... you don't have to go on a camping trip with the guy, but maybe have a chat at a town meeting or a festival or something."

"Yeah, I will," he replied with a nod.

"And if you get to know him and there's still weirdness, if you still have a little flag going off... then we'll talk about this again. Because I don't want there to be a flag." She squeezed his hand again. "We will do what it takes to get rid of the flags, okay?"

Luke gave her a nod. "Okay." He started affectionately gliding his hand over her leg. "So, can we declare this fight over?"

"Yes, it's over, it's done, we have officially killed the fight," she said, and then she glanced toward the house and then back at him with a sigh. "And yet we have no privacy for makeup sex. This remodel is really causing an issue."

Luke smirked and leaned in to kiss her. "I love you," he whispered against her lips.

"I love you," she murmured before initiating a deeper kiss.

Their kiss was interrupted by an excited scream and the sound of bouncing plastic, and they looked over at Josh. He had thrown his empty bottle onto the porch, and when they looked at him, he held out his arms toward them wanting to get out of his stroller.

"Okay, we get it, you're done being cooped up in there," Lorelai said, reaching down to pick up his bottle. "You're probably still hungry, too."

"Let's go get some food," Luke said, standing up. He lifted Josh from the stroller and they headed into the house.

. . . . .

. . . . .

On Thursday evening, Rory arrived home from her internship and greeted Tom in the front yard as she walked toward the house. She walked inside and found a few construction guys in the living room with Lorelai and Josh.

"I'm home," Rory announced, and there was a chorus of hellos as she opened the baby gate and walked into the living room.

"Just in time for the end of day wrap-up," Lorelai told her, and patted the couch cushion next to her. "Come sit." Rory sat down next to her on the couch, and Lorelai told her, "You just missed the award for most improved profanity usage around the baby."

"Oh, wait, let me guess," Rory said. "Was it Pete?"

Lorelai gasped. "It _was_ Pete, how did you know?"

"He told me he was working extra hard at it, and I had faith in him," Rory said, and she smiled at Pete standing across from her. "Good job, Pete."

Pete proudly gave her a tip of his hat. "Thanks."

"Yes, good job, Pete, keep it up," Lorelai added. "And today's second award is... drumroll please... most calories consumed at lunch!"

"Ooh, it has to be me," Eddie said, excitedly nudging his elbows into both Pete and Joe standing beside him. "I had two subs for lunch."

"Yeah, but I had that chicken pot pie," Benny said from across the room. "That's like a heart attack in a dish."

"Guys, guys, settle down," Lorelai said calmly. "Now, I did not look up actual calorie content to verify everything because I didn't have time for that, so this is based only on my observation of whose lunch looked the unhealthiest."

"Trust me, she has experience with unhealthy foods," Rory added.

"Thank you," Lorelai said. "That being said, the winner of this award today is... drumroll again..." She glanced at the piece of paper in her hand. "Billy, for his lunchtime consumption of... two calzones, garlic bread with cheese, mozzarella sticks, and pizza fries." She looked up from the paper and shook her head in disbelief. "Very impressive meal. I hope he had some antacids for dessert."

Eddie snapped his fingers disappointedly. "Shit, I forgot that he went heavy on the Italian today."

Pete nudged him. "The baby's right there, watch your mouth," he told him, and then he called toward the staircase, "Billy, get down here! You just won an award."

They heard footsteps on the stairs and Billy poked his head through the plastic sheet blocking the staircase. "What did I win?" Billy asked. "Cleanest hard hat again?"

"Nope, a new award," Lorelai replied. "Most calories consumed at lunch."

Billy pumped his fist and excitedly said, "Yes! What are the prize choices?"

"The winners today get to choose one of two fabulous options for tomorrow," Lorelai announced. "You can choose a fresh-baked extra large cinnamon roll from Weston's for breakfast, or a slice of Sookie's homemade strawberry shortcake as an afternoon treat. And yes, you can both choose the same thing if you want."

"Cinnamon roll!" Pete requested. "With extra icing."

"Ooh, strawberry shortcake!" Billy exclaimed, and then lowered his voice to add, "Oops, sorry... got a little excited."

"You got it, guys," Lorelai said, and she stood up from the couch with Josh. "Wrap-up adjourned. See you guys tomorrow."

The guys went to go clean up for the night, and Lorelai and Rory headed to the kitchen with Josh.

Luke was cooking dinner at the stove. "How'd it go?" he asked.

"Very good," Lorelai said. "I have to run out before work tomorrow and get a cinnamon roll from Weston's for Pete, and bring home strawberry shortcake from the inn for Billy."

"Okay," Luke replied.

Rory smiled. "I still think it's hilarious that Luke goes along with this new award program with minimal eye-rolling."

"Hey, it may be a crazy idea, but we went from feeding 15 construction guys twice a day to just handing out 2 or 3 food items a day, so I'll take it," Luke said.

"And it's a fun game for the guys, they like to see what categories I'm gonna come up with and what the rewards are," Lorelai said, and then she glanced back toward the living room to see if any guys were nearby before adding, "Although I think some of them are hoping that one day a reward option is going to be a chance to take home a pair of my underwear or something kinky like that. What are your thoughts on intimate clothing as future reward options, hon?"

"Only if it gets us a discount," Luke replied, not looking up from the chicken he was frying on the stove. "A big discount."

"I'll try to negotiate," Lorelai told him, and she started to put Josh into his high chair. "Let's have some dinner, and afterwards we can show your sister the progress you made with your walking skills today."

Rory's eyes widened. "What? Really? Is he finally walking without holding on to something?"

"No, not exactly. By progress, I mean... he can now stand up for three seconds on his own before he shakily collapses to the floor in a heap," Lorelai said. "So it's progress over his previous record of one second."

"Well, you gotta start somewhere," Rory said, and then patted Josh on the head. "Good job, bro." She walked into her room to put her bag down and took off her shoes. She walked back into the kitchen and got herself a drink from the fridge, and then sat down at the table.

Luke was making mac and cheese to go with dinner, and had set aside a bowl of plain macaroni noodles for Josh. Lorelai was now at the table cutting them in half and putting them on his high chair tray.

"How was my little Lois Lane's day?" Lorelai asked Rory.

"It was good," Rory replied. "I'm helping out on a couple of stories, and we did some interviews today. And a lot of filing, which isn't the most fun task, but I have greatly decreased my average amount of paper cuts per day since the first week."

"Congrats!" Lorelai said enthusiastically. "I'm so proud."

"And I talked to Mark on the phone on the way home," Rory said. "We're gonna see each other this weekend."

"Oh, yeah?" Lorelai replied. "First time in a few weeks, huh?"

Rory nodded. "Yeah, we've been talking pretty much every day, but it'll be good to actually see him."

"So you can get all smoochy-smoochy," Lorelai teased as she mimicked kissing on the back of her hand. "Mwah, mwah."

Rory smiled as she rolled her eyes. "Okay, enough."

"Yes, enough," Luke echoed.

Lorelai stopped with the hand-kissing. "Sorry, it's been a long day," she said. "Is he driving here or are you driving there?"

"We're actually gonna be meeting in Knollwood," Rory replied.

"Oh, cool, a beach day," Lorelai said. "You're gonna be Frankie and Annette?"

Rory nodded. "One of his best friends is this guy Keith, and their families are really close. Every year Keith's parents rent a beach house for a week and they invite Mark's family to stay with them for a few nights."

Lorelai raised an eyebrow as a smile slowly appeared on her lips. "Wait, his _family_? So, you're gonna be meeting his parents?"

Rory nodded. "And his little sister, and one of his brothers."

"Wow. That's a lot of people to meet all at once," Lorelai said.

"Yeah. I'm a little nervous," Rory admitted.

"It'll be fine," Lorelai assured her.

"Yeah, you're good at talking to people and getting along with 'em," Luke said. "They're gonna love you."

Rory smiled. "Thanks. I hope so. It should be fun. He said we'll probably spend the day at the beach with everyone, and then maybe go off on our own for dinner or ice cream or something."

"Are you staying over or is it just for the day?" Luke asked her.

"I'll drive back here Saturday night," Rory replied. "He's staying over Friday and Saturday nights with his family, but I'm just gonna be there for Saturday."

"It sounds like it'll be fun," Lorelai said encouragingly.

"If you want, I can whip up something for you to bring," Luke offered. "Some lemon bars or cookies or something."

"Oh, yeah, that's a good idea," Lorelai said, patting Rory on the arm. "You should bring your hosts a gift to thank them for their hospitality."

"Okay, yeah, that would be great," Rory said, nodding. "Thanks, Luke."

"I'm a little jealous, I want a beach day." Lorelai looked over at Luke. "We should take Josh there for a day."

"Yeah, maybe, sometime," Luke agreed. There was a knock on the back door and Luke glanced over at it. "Oh, that's Tom," he said. "I told him I wanted to talk to him before he left." He turned off the stove and took the last pieces of chicken out of the pan and put them on a plate. "We'll finish the beach talk later." He gestured toward the food. "This is ready if you wanna start eating."

"We'll wait for you," Lorelai replied, and then waved him toward the door. "Go talk to Tom."

. . . . .

. . . . .

On Sunday morning, when Lorelai woke up, she quietly got out of bed to use the bathroom. On her way back to the bed, she looked out the front window to make sure Rory's car was in the driveway. She had fallen asleep before Rory had gotten home from her day trip to the beach, and Lorelai wanted to make sure she eventually made it home safely.

After confirming her car was outside, Lorelai settled back into the bed next to Luke. He stirred and rolled toward her, wrapping his arms around her from behind. "Hi," he whispered.

Lorelai leaned back against him and relaxed against his body. "Morning," she whispered.

He kissed her shoulder and rested his chin against her arm. "I had a dream about you."

Lorelai smiled. "Oh, yeah?"

"Mmhmm," he said. "We were in a room at the inn."

"Alone?"

"Yeah. During his birthday party."

Lorelai's smile widened and she glanced back at him over her shoulder. "We snuck away from our kid's birthday party for some privacy? Scandalous, even for us."

"Yeah... we were trying to figure out how long we could nap before people started looking for us," Luke told her. "We had pajamas on and everything... weirdly, they were matching and had Santa Clauses on them."

Lorelai giggled. "The undeniably sexy lives of parents trying to get some uninterrupted sleep."

"Yup."

She glanced over at the crib on the other side of Luke to check on Josh, and then rested her head back against her pillow. "He's gonna be up soon."

Luke glanced over at the clock. "Yeah, probably," he agreed. "What do you have planned for today?"

"Well, speaking of his party, I really need to get his invitations out so I can have that task not hanging over me anymore," Lorelai replied. "The inn is already booked, it's time to officially send the invites out."

"Invitations, right, yeah." He paused a moment before casually asking, "So, do I need to help with that, or..."

Lorelai smiled. "No, I got it. I'll see if Rory wants to go to the party store with me and the boy to pick out some party supplies. Josh will have fun looking at all the balloons."

"The kid does love himself some balloons," Luke said.

Lorelai's smile widened. "He does. It's adorable." She stifled a yawn. "What's on your to-do list today?"

"I have to run to the diner for an hour or two," he reminded her. "I wanna do an inventory check and make sure we're caught up on all the supplier bills."

"Okay."

"I guess I could go now since I'm up... get it over with."

Lorelai rested her hand on his arm that was draped over her stomach. "Or you could stay in bed with your wife."

Luke smiled and kissed the side of her neck. "Or I could stay in bed with my wife."

"Good choice."

"Rory made it home last night?"

"Yeah. I didn't hear her come in, though... did you?"

"Nope. We must've been out cold. You think she had a good time?"

"I would think so," Lorelai replied. "I mean, he's really nice, so his family probably is, too." She paused for a moment, thought that over, and then added, "Then again, I guess families don't always share the same personality characteristics."

"Are you referring to the very slight differences in personality between you and your parents?" Luke teased.

Lorelai nudged him with her elbow. "Take back that 'slight' right now."

Luke laughed softly. "Sorry. I meant drastic... _drastic_ differences."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome," he replied.

Luke snuggled up closer to her from behind and slipped his hand beneath her pajama shirt to caress her back. "Uh oh, my hand's starting to roam."

Lorelai smiled. "As it usually does."

"You have very limited time to declare some boundaries before it starts exploring a wider range of surface area."

"Hmm," Lorelai hummed, and glanced back at him over her shoulder with a smile. "Let's review the logistics... public bedroom, two kids still asleep but we're 3 feet away from one of them who is dangerously close to waking up... so, I'm thinking..."

"Stay above the waist?"

"Stay above the waist," she agreed.

Luke kissed her softly and moved his hand to her front to caress her stomach. "Yes, ma'am."

 **. . . . .**

 **. . . . .**

A few hours later, Luke had gone to the diner, and Lorelai and Josh were out in the yard when Rory woke up. She stepped out onto the front porch carrying a cup of coffee. She was wearing her slippers and her robe was thrown over her pajamas.

"Morning," Rory said.

Lorelai smiled at her from the lawn. "Good morning, angel."

As Rory sat down on the front steps, Lorelai directed Josh's attention toward Rory. "Look who's up, Joshy. Your sister woke from her peaceful slumber to come play with you."

Josh locked eyes on Rory and started quickly crawling toward her, with Lorelai following close behind. "He's so excited," Lorelai said, smiling.

Rory put her coffee down and reached her arms out toward Josh. He started to crawl up onto the first step before Rory picked him up and hugged him. "Hi, buddy," Rory said to him. "Are you having fun out here? You have a lot of energy, you must've had a good night's sleep."

"Yeah, he did much better last night than the night before," Lorelai said, recalling Friday night when Josh woke up crying several times in the middle of the night. "Ugh, that was not fun." She sat down on the porch next to Rory. "But we went to bed early last night, and he slept through the night."

"That's good." Rory looked down at Josh, who was playing with the pocket on her robe. "Good job, kid."

"I didn't even hear you come in... what time did you get home?"

"It was around 11:30, I think," Rory replied. "I didn't expect to be so late, but they were playing some board games and wanted me to stay and play for a little while."

Lorelai smiled. "That's nice." She patted Rory on the knee. "So, tell me, how was it? Everyone was nice?"

Rory nodded in confirmation. "Yeah, really nice. His parents were great, and his sister and brother are just like him... calm and easygoing, but sarcastic in a friendly way."

Lorelai exhaled a sigh of relief. "Whew. Good. Luke and I were hoping it wasn't one of those situations where he's really cool, but the family isn't. You know, like mine."

Rory smiled. "No. Fortunately, everyone was great. His friend Keith and his parents were nice, too. And they all acted like they were one big family, it was cute. They joke around and laugh a lot. It was fun, and I didn't feel nervous like I had to impress anyone."

Lorelai was smiling, relieved that everything went well. "That's great, honey. I'm glad it was good."

"Thanks." Rory took a sip of her coffee before adding, "Oh, and I hope you don't mind, I invited Mark to Josh's party. Is that okay?"

"Oh, yeah, definitely," Lorelai replied with a nod. "I was gonna suggest that anyway. Can he make it?"

"He thinks so," Rory replied. "His internship will be over by then, so he'll be helping at his brother's vet clinic. Barring any emergencies there, I think he'll be here."

"Good, good," Lorelai said. Josh started to try to crawl off of Rory's lap, and Lorelai took him from her. "Come here, let's go back to your toys."

Rory picked up her coffee, stood up from the porch steps, and followed Lorelai onto the lawn. "How was your night?" Rory asked.

"It was good. We went over to Sookie's to watch Davey for a few hours," Lorelai said.

"Oh, right, I saw that on the wall calendar. Did the boys have fun playing together?"

"Yup. And since they went out for an early dinner, they weren't out too late, hence us being able to get to bed early."

Rory raised up her coffee mug a little. "Cheers to that."

Josh started crawling away from his toys, and they followed behind him.

"Oh, and we have a little project to work on over the next few weeks," Lorelai told Rory. "Luke got one of those paint color sample books, so we need to start picking out some paint colors."

Rory's eyes widened. "Fun."

"Yup. And Luke said if we want to paint anything down here on the first floor, we should think about that, too. Might as well get it all done at once. Any interest in painting your room?"

"Oh, maybe, yeah," Rory replied excitedly. "Might be nice to spruce it up."

"Yeah, and I was thinking about maybe sprucing up the living room and the foyer."

"So you've got a lot of colors to pick out."

"Yeah, let's see," Lorelai said, and she started ticking them off on her fingers. "Downstairs we have the living room and foyer. Then upstairs we have the hallway, master bedroom, master bathroom, regular bathroom, Josh's room, and the ba-" She abruptly stopped and corrected herself, "... the, uh, new spare room."

"The new spare room," Rory repeated, and then teasingly added, "Sounds like the official name for that room starts with a 'B'... so it's either Babette's room or maybe..." Rory cocked her head to the side. "... a baby's room?"

Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "I didn't mean to say it out loud." She took a deep breath before continuing with, "But Luke and I talked about it recently and we agreed that we want to have another one at some point, so it made sense to put in another room up there."

"Yeah, that makes sense," Rory agreed. "And I kind of figured that's what it was for, even though you kept calling it a spare room."

"Sorry I didn't mention it. Luke felt a little weird last time when people knew we were actively trying to have a kid," Lorelai said. "So I figured I'd keep it on the down low this time."

Rory's eyes widened. "Wait, you're _actively_ trying? You just said _at some point..._ leading me to believe that was a future goal, not something that was currently happening."

Lorelai grimaced. "Oh, shoot, I didn't mean to say that either." She shook her head disappointedly. "Man, I am sucking at this conversation."

Rory smirked. "If you guys are ready for another kid, I think it's cute... and it's totally your business, you don't have to tell me. I'm happy for you guys."

Lorelai smiled. "Thanks."

"And it's probably good to do it before the pressure starts kicking in to get your own inn going," Rory added.

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, that's something in the back of my mind. Not that opening an inn with two small kids instead of one will make it any easier, but I'd rather the baby delay the inn than the inn delay the baby, you know? I'm not getting any younger over here."

Rory smiled. "Yeah, I get it. I think it's great, Mom, really."

"Thanks, kid." Lorelai exhaled a breath. "So, that means we'll be picking a neutral color for that room."

"Right. Well, I'm sure there are a lot of choices that'll work."

Lorelai nodded in agreement. "Yeah, we'll find something." They had been following Josh as he explored the yard, randomly stopping to play with the grass or a dandelion or whatever else looked interesting. But when he stated to crawl toward the garage, Lorelai picked him up to bring him back toward the center of the lawn. "You're gonna hurt your knees if you crawl over there, bud."

He ignored her and promptly started crawling back toward the driveway, and Lorelai scooped him up. "No, Indiana Jones, you can't explore over there yet. Start walking upright on your own, and then you can go on all sorts of crazy adventures around the property."

Lorelai carried him further away from the driveway and sat down on the grass with him near his toys. "Here, come play with me and stay away from the rocky driveway terrain, huh?" She grabbed a large toy dump truck and started putting some of his smaller toy trucks into it. "Look, make a pile of trucks." Josh started following her lead and placing his little trucks into the bigger one.

Rory sat down on the grass with them. "So, I was just thinking... do you think I should invite Mark to Grandma and Grandpa's party, too?"

Lorelai looked at her and cringed a little.

Rory narrowed her eyes. "What was that?"

"Sorry, reflex," Lorelai said, shaking it off. "You really want to expose him to that?"

"Well, I was thinking that Grandma is expecting him to come over sometime anyway, and that it might be more relaxing for him if it's during a party with a ton of people instead of an intimate dinner," Rory explained. "That way the focus won't be on him."

"Yeah, but she won't accept that as a substitute for the dinner," Lorelai warned her. "She'll still expect the intimate dinner."

"Yes, but maybe it'll hold her off for awhile," Rory said with hopefulness. "And then when he does eventually go for dinner, he'll already have an idea of what to expect with them, and the house won't seem so intimidating and everything. I mean, he's met _her_ , and he'll see them both at your party for Josh, but maybe seeing them at one of their own events might give him a better idea of what they're like."

Lorelai thought it over and then nodded in agreement. "Yeah, maybe. It's probably a good idea to walk him around the zoo before directly throwing him to the lions."

"Yeah," Rory said. She took a sip of her coffee, and then gestured to the house. "I should go take a shower."

"You have any plans for today?"

Rory shrugged. "Not really."

"Okay. Well, Luke's doing inventory at the diner for a little while. You wanna take a ride with Josh and I to the party store to check out birthday party supplies, where we will buy him a balloon to distract him from wanting to get out of the cart while we shop, and then we can hit up the nearest Mexican place for some lunch, where we'll probably have to bring in said balloon from the party store because Josh won't be able to part with it and will refuse to leave it in the car?"

Rory smiled. "Yeah, it's a plan. As long as there's a balloon in it for me, too."

Lorelai smiled. "You got it."

. . . . .

. . . . .

The next night, Lorelai and Rory were sitting at a table at the diner working on the invitations for Josh's birthday party. Luke was working late because Caesar took the evening off, and they decided to stop in for dinner and to hang out for awhile. Luke did warn them that if he needed the table for customers, they'd have to clear out.

Gypsy had been eating at the diner at the same time as them. As she was getting ready to leave, she noticed Josh was getting antsy in the high chair, and offered to take him for a walk around town to give them time to finish up the invitations.

"Oh, so, my mom called today," Lorelai said to Rory. "She wanted to see how we felt about coming over for dinner on Sunday. Something about how it might be nice for Dad to see his only daughter and grandchildren on Father's Day."

Rory smiled. "She throws that pre-guilt trip at you every year like you're gonna say no."

"Well, I'm sure this year she figured with it being Luke's first Father's Day, we might actually decline and want to spend it at home," Lorelai said.

"Oh, true," Rory said, nodding in agreement. "What'd you tell her?"

"I told her an early dinner would be good, and that Hartford is such a long drive for the baby to make twice in the same week," Lorelai said with a raised eyebrow. "Especially when he goes through random spouts of crankiness with his teething."

Rory smirked. "So, you got her to trade Friday night dinner for Father's Day dinner like you did for Mother's Day brunch?"

"I did indeed," Lorelai confirmed. "We certainly can't over-visit them, they'll get sick of us. It's for the best interest of all parties involved to really try to maintain the once a week pattern."

"Nice job."

"Thank you."

As they continued working on the invitations, Jess walked into the diner. He was carrying two bags from Doose's, and after the girls had greeted him, Rory asked, "What do you have in there? Anything good?"

"Frozen pizza," he replied.

"And?" Rory prompted him.

"That's it," he replied.

He set the bags on the table. Rory looked inside them and confirmed, "Yup, it's literally two bags of frozen pizza."

"Starting a new frozen pizza diet?" Lorelai asked.

"I just stock up on whatever's on sale at the market," he replied. "This week is frozen pizza. Last week was macaroni and cheese."

Lorelai nodded understandably. "Got it. You know, you can come over to our house for dinner and get some home-cooked meals once in awhile. There's always plenty."

"I tell him that all the time," a voice said, and they turned to see Luke walking up behind them. "Hey," he said to Jess.

"Hi," Jess said, and he shrugged as he added, "I don't mind the cheap food."

"Okay, well, it's a standing offer," Lorelai said.

"How was work?" Luke asked him.

"It was okay," Jess replied, and then he confusedly looked around. "Wait, aren't you missing a kid?"

"Yeah, he's out on a date," Lorelai replied. "He's a ladies' man, that one."

"Gypsy took him for a walk," Luke clarified.

"Oh." Jess gestured to the envelopes. "What's that?"

"Invitations," Rory said. She flipped through a few of them to find his, and handed it to him. "For Josh's birthday party. Be there or be square."

"It's the event of the summer," Lorelai added. "The whole town will be there." She paused a moment before adding, "Well, the ones that made it past Luke's veto list."

"It's on the 24th of July at the inn," Luke told him. "I know you hate parties as much as I do, but try to stop by for at least a little, okay? It means a lot."

"That's over a month away," Jess said as he slipped the invitation into one of his shopping bags. "I'm not gonna remember that. You're gonna have to remind me the day before."

"I will," Luke replied.

"How's the bookstore?" Rory asked. "Anything new and exciting coming out soon that might not be on my radar yet?"

"Please... your radar has a wider range than mine, you're the one that should be telling _me_ what's coming out soon," Jess said, and then replied, "But the store's okay... it's been quiet. Andrew's actually been closing it a little early some nights when it's really slow, which cuts down on my hours."

"Bummer," Rory said.

"If you're interested, we're still looking for some more hands for the event crew at the inn," Lorelai said. "We always have an increase in events during the summer, so we staff extra crew for the season."

Jess glanced warily at Luke before replying to Lorelai, "What does the event crew do?"

"Any time there's an event, we need people to help set up tables and chairs and tents and lighting and sound equipment, and whatever else is needed," Lorelai explained.

"And then at the end of the event, they take it all down and put it all away," Rory added.

"So they don't actually run an event and have to talk to people?" Jess said.

"Nope. It's usually just some heavy lifting and manual labor," Lorelai said. "And a way to make some extra cash in your free time before school starts back up."

Jess looked a little hesitant about it, and he shrugged. "I don't know... maybe."

"Okay, well, just think about it, let me know," Lorelai said. "It would only be a few hours a week, nothing too overwhelming. If you keep losing bookstore hours, this might be a good way to make it up."

Jess nodded. "I'll think about it. Thanks." He picked up his bags and gestured toward the staircase. "Better get these up there."

"Yeah, don't want your pizzas to melt," Luke said, and he nodded toward him. "See you later."

Jess said goodbye and headed toward the stairs as Luke went to check on some customers. Rory glanced outside and saw Gypsy approaching the diner with the stroller.

"Gypsy's back, Mom," Rory said.

Lorelai stood up from her chair and walked outside to greet Gypsy, and smiled when she saw Josh sleeping peacefully in his stroller. "Aw, he looks so cute. How was he?" Lorelai asked.

"He was good. We stopped by the garage, I showed him the inner workings of a car engine, and then we did a few laps around the square and he dozed off," Gypsy told her.

"Well, thanks for the help," Lorelai said sincerely. "He likes hanging out with Aunt Gypsy."

Gypsy smiled timidly at that, and then shrugged nonchalantly. "Yeah, I don't mind hanging out with him either."

Lorelai patted the handle of the stroller. "Okay, I should get him home. Can you wait out here with him for a minute while I get my stuff?"

"Sure."

Lorelai walked back into the diner and over to Rory. "He's asleep, so I'm gonna take him home," she said, and started gathering her things from the table and tossing them into her tote bag. "Can you find Gypsy's invitation? We'll give it to her now."

"Yeah, I have it right here," Rory said, picking up the one on the top of the stack.

"Hon, we're leaving," Lorelai called to Luke, who was now behind the counter. "Josh fell asleep."

"Okay." Luke walked over to them and then walked with them outside. He thanked Gypsy for helping out, and then he kissed Lorelai goodbye. "I'll see you at home," he said, and then nodded at Rory. "Bye, Rory."

"Bye, Luke," Rory replied.

Rory gave Gypsy her party invitation as they said goodbye to her, and then Lorelai and Rory started walking home with Josh.

"So, back to the Father's Day conversation, we have to get Grandpa a gift," Rory said. "Any ideas?"

"No, you?"

"No. And I still have to get something for Luke, too," Rory said. "Did you get something for him already?"

"Yeah, I got a few things, and I have a couple of other things in mind," Lorelai said. "Some cutesy things, and one manly thing I know he actually wants to make up for the cutesy things."

"What is it?"

"Well, I ran into his friend John last week, and I asked him if there was anything camping-related that Luke has mentioned wanting," Lorelai said. "And he said Luke made a comment about maybe replacing his lantern soon, so John recommended one for me to get."

"Oh, that's good. Something he needs and he'll get some use out of."

"Yeah, and I took it one step further, and I also got a plastic _toy_ lantern to go with it," Lorelai said, grinning. "So it'll be like father/son lanterns."

Rory smiled. "So you turned the one manly thing into a cutesy thing, too?"

Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "Kind of."

"He'll like that," Rory confirmed. "He's a softy." They walked quietly for a few moments, and Rory looked over at Lorelai. "I forget what I did last year for Dad. Did I send him a card?"

"I think so," Lorelai recalled. "And you probably called him to say hi, I'm assuming. I can't remember. This time last year, I was 8 months pregnant and was wondering if I'd ever look good in jeans again."

Rory nodded toward Lorelai's legs, currently hugged by denim. "And you do."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome," Rory said. "Okay, so, we clearly have some shopping to do."

"Yes, we do," Lorelai agreed. "Maybe tomorrow night after dinner, you and I can run out to the mall and get all of our Father's Day to-do list items checked off."

"Okay."

"And if we happen to feel the need to reward ourselves with ice cream sundaes after we check them off, so be it."

"So be it," Rory repeated, nodding in agreement.

. . . . .

. . . . .

A few days later, late on Thursday morning, Lorelai left the Independence Inn a little early to run a quick errand before heading home. When she got to the house, she maneuvered her way through the construction mess in the front yard and walked through the front door.

As she set her purse and shopping bag on the foyer table, she saw Luke with the baby in his arms pacing the hallway between the kitchen and the living room.

"He's tired," Luke told her. "He's just having trouble getting to sleep."

"Okay. Give me a minute, I'll take him." Lorelai grabbed an outfit from her dresser and changed in the bathroom out of her work clothes. When she was finished, she took the baby from Luke, who was now in the living room. "I'll take him for a walk, we'll get away from the hammering and drilling for a little while."

"Okay. And once he's asleep, it'll give you time to concentrate on your new favorite hobby of looking at paint colors for hours without actually making a decision about any for our house." He cocked his head to the side with a playful smile.

Lorelai smirked. "I will decide on colors eventually, give me time."

"You've had a week and haven't decided on any yet," Luke said. "That's not the best rate of progress."

"Well, the guys aren't anywhere near ready to paint, so I have plenty of time to let the colors speak to me."

"Yeah, but - "

Lorelai cut him off by grabbing his flannel shirt and pulling him into a passionate kiss. She pulled back slightly, letting her lips linger near his as she breathily asked, "But what?"

"Nothing," he replied, and he pressed his lips back to hers, deepening the kiss as his hand began caressing the back of her body.

The side door suddenly opened, and Luke quickly broke the kiss. He embarrassedly stepped back from Lorelai as Billy from the construction crew walked into the room.

"Hey, Lorelai," Billy greeted her, and then he gave Luke a wink. "Luke."

"Hi, Billy," Lorelai greeted him, shifting Josh in her arms. "How's everything going?"

"Pretty good," Billy replied. "Are we gonna have a _Saturday Night Fever_ dance off again today?"

"Yeah, maybe, after Josh's nap," Lorelai replied, and then glanced at Luke, who was looking at her in disbelief. "What?"

"Do you interrupt them while they're trying to work?" he asked, folding his arms across his chest.

"No, it's during their break," she told him.

"Yeah, Luke, it's only during breaks," Billy confirmed. "Lorelai likes us to relax and have fun."

"Yeah, I know," Luke said unenthusiastically. "I just want to make sure there's more work than fun."

"There is," Billy told him, and then he glanced down at the drill in his hand. "Oops, I have to take this upstairs." He nodded toward them. "See you later."

As Billy walked up the stairs, Luke glanced at Lorelai warily. "Try not to interrupt them too much, okay?"

"I don't," Lorelai assured him. "But studies show that workers who enjoy their place of work perform better, so I'm doing this for us. We'll get a better final product if I keep engaging and having fun with the crew."

"Mmhmm," Luke skeptically hummed. He grabbed his wallet and keys from the desk, and Lorelai followed him to the foyer.

He kissed Josh goodbye and then Lorelai. "Bye." Luke turned to leave and bumped into the hall table, knocking her purse and shopping bag to the floor. "Oops, sorry." He reached down to pick them up for her.

Lorelai's eyes widened. "No, don't touch!"

Luke froze with his hand extended toward the floor, and then slowly stood back up. "Geez."

"Sorry, there's a Father's Day gift in the bag," she quickly said. "I don't want you to accidentally see it... it's a surprise."

Luke held up his hands in surrender. "Okay, I'm not touching anything. But you know I hate surprises, right? And gifts? And attention?"

Lorelai smiled. "Just suck it up and let me spoil you a little, okay? I promise I will try to cut back on future Father's Day festivities, but this is your first one... let us have this one."

"Fine," Luke reluctantly agreed.

"Thank you." She leaned in and kissed him again. "Bye."

"Bye." Luke walked out the front door, pulling it shut behind him.

Lorelai picked up her purse and shopping bag, then walked to Rory's bedroom and shut the door. She sat down on the bed with the baby, and dumped the contents of the bag on the bed.

"Okay, whatever happens in the next few minutes, you have to promise to keep it a secret from Daddy, okay? At least for the next few days," Lorelai said to Josh. As Josh obliviously reached for the charm on her necklace, she leaned in and kissed his forehead. "Thank you... I'm glad we're on the same page here."

. . . . .

. . . . .

When Lorelai woke up on Sunday morning, Luke and Josh were both still asleep. She quietly climbed out of bed and retrieved some of Luke's Father's Day gifts from the closet. She set a few on the bedside table, and some near the couch. She put a diaper and onesie on the couch for Josh to change into when he woke up.

She freshened up in the bathroom before heading to the kitchen to make coffee. She was sitting at the table finishing up her first cup when she heard noises in the living room. When she went to check it out, she found Luke lifting Josh from his crib.

"Good morning," Lorelai greeted them softly as she walked over to the crib. "Happy Father's Day."

"Thanks," Luke replied, leaning in to kiss her. "Good morning."

Lorelai kissed Josh on his forehead. "Morning, little boy." They all sat down on the bed, and she asked Luke, "He wasn't crying, was he? I didn't hear him."

"No. I opened my eyes and he was standing up at the side of the crib just staring at me," Luke said, smiling. "Like he was trying to force me awake with his mind."

Lorelai gasped. "Our kid has Jedi mind control powers?"

"Apparently, because it worked," Luke replied. "And then when he saw me wake up, he started hitting the railing all excited."

Lorelai smiled as she ran her hand over Josh's hair. "Aww. He's excited for Father's Day."

"That must be it," Luke said. He glanced toward the kitchen, and then warily asked, "Were you making breakfast?"

Lorelai let out a laugh. "God, no. I wouldn't subject you to that on your special day."

Luke smirked. "Okay, just checking."

"I'd be more than happy to peel you a banana or pour a bowl of cereal," Lorelai offered. "Or toast... I make a mean piece of toast... I can even throw some butter on it for ya if you want."

"Nah, it's okay... I can cook us something," Luke replied. "I like cooking. I don't mind doing it today."

"Consider that one of your gifts, then... allowing you the opportunity to partake in an activity you love," Lorelai said. "You're welcome."

"Appreciate it."

Lorelai stood up from the bed and took Josh from him. "I'm gonna change him, and then we're gonna give you one of your presents." She wagged a finger at him. "Stay right here."

Luke playfully saluted her. "Will do." He put his hands behind his head and leaned back against his pillow.

She brought Josh over to the couch to change him into the diaper and onesie she'd put out earlier.

While she was changing him, Lorelai glanced over at Luke. "Are you relaxing? I want you to relax today."

"I'm lying in bed in my boxer shorts, how much more relaxed can I get?"

Lorelai shrugged. "Well, you could be naked."

Luke rolled his eyes, but was smirking amusedly as he nodded toward the kitchen. "Yeah, we're not getting to that level of relaxation when Rory's home, so forget it."

"All right, fine." Lorelai snapped on Josh's onesie and picked him up from the couch. She walked back over to Luke and sat on the bed with him. "Okay, ready for your present?"

"Yup."

Lorelai held out the baby toward him. "Here."

Luke sat up in the bed and took Josh from her, expecting that she was going to go retrieve a present for him to open. When she stayed on the bed staring at him, he confusedly asked, "Where's the present?"

"You're holding it," Lorelai said.

Luke looked at Josh, and then back at Lorelai. "Is this some sort of metaphorical thing, like you're pointing out that he's the neverending gift you've given me?"

Lorelai smirked. "No. Read him." A quick trip to the fabric store for iron-on letters had allowed Lorelai to transform one of Josh's plain onesies into one with a special message.

Luke looked down at the letters on the baby's chest that he hadn't noticed until she pointed them out. He read the words to himself, and then looked at Lorelai with wide eyes. He looked back down at the baby to reread the words.

" _Big brother in training_ ," he read aloud, and then looked at Lorelai. "In training... so that means... "

"It means that right now at this very minute, he's in training," she confirmed. "Because he will soon be an actual big brother."

Luke's lips slowly curved into a smile. "So... you're pregnant?"

Lorelai gave him a little nod. "Yeah."

His smile widened. "Wow. When did you find out?"

"I had my suspicions, so I took a test on Thursday and confirmed them." She shook her head slightly. "It was so hard not to tell you, but I thought it would be cute to save the surprise for today." She nodded toward Josh, who had found the TV remote in the bed and was playing with it. "He's the only one who knew, and he's good at keeping secrets because of the whole no-talking thing."

Luke smiled and shook his head in disbelief. "Wow. I'm... this is... I mean... I'm still in shock," he stammered, and then he added, "A good shock, though."

Lorelai smiled. "Good."

Luke thought for a moment about the date and the timing. "So... it'll be due when?" he asked. "I guess we need a doctor to tell us that, right?"

"Well, I did the math based on my cycle and all that, and I'm pretty sure we conceived around Memorial Day," Lorelai told him, and then raised an eyebrow. "Remember that night Rory stayed over at my parents' house?"

Luke smiled - he recalled the night before Memorial Day very clearly. After they'd put Josh to bed, they decided to quietly take advantage of the otherwise empty house. Their romantic evening began on the bed before they decided to better distance themselves from the crib.

"The night that ended with us on a makeshift bed of blankets by the fireplace," Luke replied.

"And pillows," Lorelai added. "Don't forget the pillows."

Luke nodded, smiling. "Right, and pillows." He reached over and squeezed her knee. "That was a good night."

Lorelai smiled. "It _was_ a good night. And I think that was probably the night you shot and scored, so my guess is that this kid'll probably be due in February." She rubbed her hands together excitedly. "A winter baby this time! Think of all the winter-themed birthday parties I'll get to throw!"

Luke smiled. "It's your dream come true."

"I know, it'll be so fun." Lorelai reached over and rubbed Josh's back. "Mommy still loves her summer baby, don't worry." She looked at Luke and let out a little sigh of relief. "I'm glad it's out now. Even keeping that from you for just three days was torture."

"I'm sure it wasn't easy keeping it from Rory, either," Luke said.

"Not at all," Lorelai said, shaking her head. "And it was only last week that I accidentally told her we were trying for another one. Little did I know at the time that the _other one_ was already in there." She glanced toward the kitchen. "I'm fighting the urge to go wake her up right now just to tell her."

"It's not even 7 yet. She'll probably be happier about the news with a little more sleep in her," Luke pointed out.

"Good point. I'll try to hold off." Lorelai glanced at the clock, and then back at Luke. "So, what do you think, give her ten more minutes?"

Luke smirked. "A little longer than that."

"Okay, fine." Lorelai reached for his hand. "Is the shock wearing off yet? How do you feel? It's still a good shock, right?"

Luke nodded. "Definitely." He leaned toward her and brushed her hair away from her eyes. "I'm really happy," he said softly. "Are you happy?"

Lorelai smiled and nodded. "I'm happy," she whispered, and leaned in to kiss him.

. . . . .

. . . . .

 **To be continued...**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

. . . . .

. . . . .

It was almost 8:30 when Rory woke up and walked out of her bedroom. The smell of bacon greeted her, and she noticed a plate of it on the table. She grabbed a piece and took a bite as she walked toward the living room, stopping at the baby gate separating the living room and the hall.

Luke was sitting on the floor, and Josh was holding on to the edge of the couch with both hands as he shakily walked his way across the front of it.

"Hey, guys," Rory said.

Luke turned to look at her, and he smiled. "Hey. Good morning."

"Happy Father's Day," Rory said.

"Thanks. We just finished breakfast... we saved you some bacon, and I can make you some fresh pancakes if you want."

Rory held up the piece of bacon. "This is good for now, thanks." She popped the rest of it into her mouth and glanced around. "Where's Mom?"

"Shower," Luke replied. "I just heard the water turn off, so she'll probably be out soon." He rubbed Josh's back and pointed toward Rory. "Look who's up, buddy... go see her. Go see Rory."

Rory held her hands out and beckoned him toward her. "Come here... come say hi."

Josh started walking toward her, gripping onto the couch cushions for balance. When he reached the end of the couch, he dropped to the floor and crawled the rest of the way to Rory. He pulled himself up on the baby gate and reached a hand up toward her.

Rory leaned down and picked him up. "Hi, there," she said. "That was fast... you're a little speed demon, aren't you?" She opened the gate and stepped through it, locking it behind her.

"He's a ball of energy, that's for sure," Luke said. "He's wearing me out already and it's not even 9."

They heard the bathroom door open, and both looked toward the hallway as Lorelai walked out of the bathroom.

"Hey, Mom," Rory said.

Lorelai smiled at Rory. "Oh, hey... good morning." She dropped her dirty clothes into a clothes basket in the hall and walked into the living room.

Josh reached out for her and she took him from Rory. "Hi, baby," Lorelai said, kissing his cheek. "Did you miss me?"

Luke stood up from the floor and walked over. "He did. He stood at the gate and stared at the bathroom door for a minute, waiting for you to come back out."

Lorelai smiled at Josh. "You did? Was Mommy's slightly-clingy boy waiting for me?"

"I'm gonna go take a shower," Rory said, and then added, "Or were you waiting for me to get up so we can do gifts? I can wait if we want to do that first."

"Oh, no, it's okay, you can shower. I don't mind waiting," Luke told her, and then he glanced at Lorelai. "But first, I think maybe there was something we wanted to tell you. Or... should we do it later? Or now? Is later better? Whatever you want," he rambled at Lorelai.

Lorelai smiled at Luke. "Yeah, in fact, there is something to tell her." She glanced down at Josh before looking at Rory. "So... honey... I actually gave Luke _one_ gift already earlier this morning. It was kind of a big one." Lorelai turned Josh around in her arms so he was facing toward Rory, and then nodded down toward Josh. "Read him."

"What?" Rory narrowed her eyes, and then glanced down at the shirt. "Oh, read him." Rory had to tug on the shirt a little to show all of the letters. "Big brother in training," she read, and then her eyes widened and she smiled at Lorelai. "He's gonna be a big brother?"

Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Yeah."

"So, that means... you're pregnant?" Rory asked.

Lorelai nodded again. "Yup. And all signs point to it being a February baby."

"Wow!" Rory's smile widened and she stepped closer to hug Lorelai. "Mom, congrats! That's big... that's really big!"

"Yes, it is," Lorelai agreed.

Rory pulled back from Lorelai and hugged Luke. "Congrats, Luke!"

Luke hugged her back. "Thanks."

"You just found out today?" Rory asked him as she pulled back from him. "Mom kept a secret?!"

Luke smiled. "Yeah, I'm just as shocked."

"How long have you known?" Rory asked her.

"Two and a half of the longest days of my life," Lorelai replied with a laugh, and she kissed Josh on the back of his head. "He was with me when I took a test on Thursday, and we hid the evidence and swore ourselves to secrecy."

"Well, you made Luke's first Father's Day very memorable," Rory said, and then she glanced at Luke with wide eyes. "Wow, it's kind of amazing to think that by your second Father's Day, you'll already have another kid."

"Amazing, insane... same difference," Luke replied with a shrug and a smirk.

"Yeah, buckle up," Lorelai said. "It's gonna be a bumpy few years."

"So, February," Rory said, and then she pondered for a moment, counting months in her head. "That means this pregnancy is _very_ early."

"Yeah, which means we're not telling anyone yet," Lorelai told her. "Not for a few months, not even Grandma and Grandpa." She thought for a second. "Well, maybe Sookie... and Jess."

Rory grimaced a little. "Wait, how are you gonna swing not telling Grandma and Grandpa? They'll know something's up when you stop drinking."

"Well, who says I'm gonna stop?" Lorelai countered.

Luke shot her a look. "What?"

"I'll let them pour the drinks, and I'll just pretend to drink them with occasional fake sips, they won't notice," Lorelai said. "You bring the cup up to your mouth, you tilt it back a little, you fake swallow... it's not something that requires Meryl Streep levels of acting skill to pull off, I think I can handle it."

"And when they notice the volume of liquid in your glass doesn't decrease at all?" Luke asked her. "What then?"

Lorelai shrugged. "We'll just have to keep the conversation lively enough that they don't get bored and start keeping tabs on my drink levels. Also, if you wanted to help sell it, you could drink some for me when they're not looking."

Luke rubbed his head. "Geez."

Rory gestured toward the bathroom. "Okay, so... should I shower _now_ , or later, or...?"

"Yes, go take a shower," Luke told her. "I'll make you some pancakes when you're done."

"And then we'll give Luke the rest of his gifts," Lorelai added. "And he will temporarily put his anti-gift, anti-attention mentality on hold and pretend to enjoy himself because he wouldn't want to risk upsetting his pregnant wife." She grinned and nudged him with her elbow. "Right?"

"Oh boy," Luke said under his breath. "It's gonna be a long eight and a half months."

. . . . .

. . . . .

The next day at the inn, Lorelai casually invited Sookie to her office under the pretense of discussing their next poultry order. It was just a way to get Sookie alone in order to share the big news without the possibility of the kitchen staff catching wind of it.

That ended up being a smart move, as Sookie started excitedly screaming and jumping up and down when she heard the news. She threw her arms around Lorelai and hugged her tightly. "Oh, my God, I'm so happy for you!"

As they separated from the hug, Sookie started firing questions. "When did you find out? When are you due? What'd Luke say? What does Rory think? What about -"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Lorelai interrupted, cutting her off, and she patted Sookie's shoulders. "Deep breaths... calm down."

Sookie smiled and closed her eyes as she took a few deep breaths, and then she looked at Lorelai. "Okay, sorry. I'm good now."

Lorelai smiled. "Good. Sit down." She gestured to the chairs in front of the desk, and they both sat down. She filled Sookie in on when she found out, how she surprised Luke for Father's Day, and how they think the due date will be in February.

"Did you call your doctor?" Sookie asked.

"Yes, this morning. I told them I took a positive test and we scheduled an appointment for mid-July," Lorelai replied. "They said to take my vitamins and call them if I have any concerns between now and then."

"Have you told anyone else?"

"Nope... you're the only person who knows who doesn't live in my house, so try to keep it under wraps for the next few weeks, okay?" Lorelai then shrugged knowingly and added, "Although I'm sure Jackson and Davey will know by the end of the day, so tell them not to say anything, too."

Sookie giggled. "Our lips are sealed." She shook her head in disbelief. "Wow, I still can't believe it happened that fast." She thought for a moment, and then her eyes widened. "This time next year, you'll have two kids under two."

Lorelai nodded her head in agreement. "Yes, we will."

Sookie shook her head again. "I can barely handle one under one at this point. I can't imagine two under two."

"Yeah, we know it's gonna be fun juggling two young ones," Lorelai said. "And by fun, I mean incredibly stressful and exhausting. I'm just hoping it goes by fast."

Sookie reached over and patted Lorelai's arm. "We'll be here to help out... I'm happy for you, honey."

Lorelai smiled. "Thanks."

Sookie glanced around for a moment, and then looked at Lorelai. "So, did you really want to discuss the poultry order?"

"No, not at all," Lorelai confirmed, and she stood up from the chair. "Let's get back to work. "

. . . . .

. . . . .

That afternoon, Lorelai took Josh for a walk to get him to sleep, and they ended up in the town square. She called Luke to let him know she was nearby, and asked if he could bring her out a cup of coffee.

When he saw her approaching the diner, he walked outside with her coffee and she grinned. "Thank you."

"It's half decaf," he told her.

Lorelai frowned as she took the cup from him. "Well, then, my gratitude is only _half_ heartfelt."

Luke looked into the stroller at Josh sleeping, and then back at her. "Good timing that you're here actually, I was just gonna call you."

Lorelai raised an eyebrow. "About?"

"As Jess was leaving for the bookstore a little while ago, he told me he wanted to take you up on that event staff thing at the inn, if you're still looking for people," Luke said. "I told him I wasn't sure, but I would check with you."

Lorelai's eyes widened with surprise. "Oh, wow." Jess hadn't seemed interested in the idea when she'd mentioned it last week, so she wasn't expecting it to come up again. "Yeah, we're still looking for people."

"He wants to try to work a lot this summer and save up money before school starts again," Luke said.

"Okay, well, I'll swing by the bookstore and talk to him about it," Lorelai said. "I'll see if he can stop by tomorrow to fill out an application." She glanced around to see if anyone was near them, and then asked Luke, "Did you tell him about the..." Her voice trailed off and she nodded toward her stomach. "You know."

Luke nodded, and also glanced around before replying, "Yes, he knows that there is something going on with your... uh... digestive system."

Lorelai smiled. "What did he say?"

"Well, I believe his exact words were... and I'm just going from memory here..." Luke rubbed his temple and cleared his throat. "' _Holy crap, already? You just had a kid like 5 minutes ago_.' And that was following an extremely shocked look I can't even recreate."

Lorelai laughed and nodded understandingly. "Yeah, we're gonna get a lot of that."

"He did offer congratulations at the end," Luke added. "Well, he didn't use that word exactly... he said 'good luck with that' and walked away."

Lorelai smirked. "Very nice."

Luke glanced into the diner. "Well, I better get back in there." He leaned in and kissed her. "See you later."

"Bye." As he walked to the door, Lorelai took a sip of her coffee and then made a face. "Ugh, I can taste the decaf."

He glanced back at her with a smile. "Better get used to it," he said, and walked into the diner.

. . . . .

. . . . .

On Friday night, Lorelai and Luke arrived at Friday night dinner just as Rory was getting out of her car. Lorelai waved to her from the front seat and rolled down her window.

"We're early... we still have 5 minutes for some chatting," Lorelai said.

Rory walked over to the passenger side window. "Hey." She leaned down to look into the car, adding, "Hi, Luke."

"Hey, Rory," Luke replied, giving her a nod hello.

"Get in," Lorelai said, nodding toward the back.

Rory got into the backseat next to Josh and greeted him, lightly tickling his neck to make him giggle. "Aw, you're happy," Rory said to him, smiling.

Lorelai turned around in her seat to look at Rory. "He is _now_. He wasn't a few hours ago when he woke up from his nap and cried for thirty minutes."

Rory frowned. "Aw, did you have a bad dream? Did Mom let you watch _Misery_ and then you had some nightmares? Because I can totally relate."

Lorelai smirked. "Not yet, I'm saving that for after he turns one."

"So, was he okay?" Rory asked.

"Yeah, he just felt like being a schnickelfritz today," Lorelai replied. "But besides that, we have a Stars Hollow news update... we received word that one Mr. Kirk Gleason will be returning to town next week."

"Oh, yeah?" Rory asked, and then looked at Luke. "So, Liz and TJ are recovered now?"

"Mostly," Luke replied. "Liz got her wrist cast off this week, so she's getting back into the swing of things, and she figured it was probably time to let Kirk get back to his normal life. Her words, not mine... I personally wouldn't describe Kirk's life as _normal_."

"Tell Rory what else she said," Lorelai encouraged him.

Luke exhaled a sigh and unenthusiastically muttered, "That she couldn't have imagined getting through the past 5 weeks without Kirk's help."

"And..." Lorelai prompted him.

Luke rolled his eyes. "And that their sales have jumped up a ton since he started."

Rory's eyes widened. "Wow. I can't believe that. That's really great."

"Yeah, it is," Luke agreed, and then he looked pointedly at Lorelai. "And what's greater is that I'm gonna have to hear about how great the idea was to send him up there for the rest of my life."

Lorelai grinned. "Yeah. That _is_ pretty great."

"How was the paper today?" Luke asked Rory, trying to change the subject from Kirk.

While Rory was filling them in on her day, Josh started whimpering and fussing to get out of his car seat. They got out of the car and walked up to the door.

The door swung open before they could ring the bell, and Emily haughtily greeted them with, "Well, I see you finally decided to end your little car party out there and drag yourselves to the front door."

Lorelai glanced at the car and then at Emily. "Were you watching us through the window?"

"Yes. I heard a car door slam, and when I didn't hear a doorbell shortly after, I came to see what was going on," Emily replied. "That's when I saw Rory get into your car, and you all sat there like you were plotting a robbery."

"Or we were just having a quiet, non-robbery plotting chat because we were a few minutes early?" Lorelai suggested. "We didn't want to show up ahead of schedule and violate proper visitor etiquette." She gestured toward the foyer. "Can we come in?"

Emily stepped out of the way and they walked into the house. They all immediately noticed decorative doors had been installed in the entryway to the living room. "Whoa," Lorelai said, her eyes widening. "That's different. You did something different."

"Yes, we did," Emily replied.

"Nice doors, Grandma," Rory added.

"Thank you, Rory," Emily replied. "They finished installing them yesterday."

Lorelai walked over to the doors and ran her hand over the decorative engravings. "Yeah, they're nice doors, Mom, I'm just surprised to see them. Where did they come from?"

"Well, several times when you've been here, you've closed the other doors to the living room," Emily said, nodding down the hallway to the living room entryway across from the dining room. "And have made remarks about how being able to enclose Joshua in the room would be easier than chasing him all over the house."

Lorelai's eyes widened. "And that's why you installed doors? For Josh?"

"Well, it's clearly something he's not growing out of, this inability to sit still," Emily said. "And now that he's starting to walk, we figured it's only going to get harder to keep him contained. We had to do something."

"Well, thanks, Mom," Lorelai said sincerely. "It _will_ help make things easier."

"Good." Emily gestured toward the living room. "Let's go in and sit down, shall we."

They followed her into the living room, and she shut the doors behind them. Lorelai immediately noticed what appeared to be an upholstered baby gate in front of the stairs.

"Oh, wow, that's blocked off, too," she said. "Someone decided to do a babyproofing makeover, huh?"

"Yes, well, I noticed he likes to crawl over there and try to climb those stairs," Emily said. "And I certainly wasn't going to install a hideous _plastic_ baby gate, so my designer suggested this alternate option."

"What is it?" Rory asked.

"It's an upholstered wall panel that he customized to fit between the two banisters when Josh is here," Emily explained. "And obviously he matched it to the rest of the room's décor."

"It's a beautiful piece," Luke commented.

"Yes, very," Lorelai agreed. "Thanks, Mom."

Emily pointed toward the corner of the room. "We also moved that potted ficus to the other room. He has certainly been intrigued by that the past few visits, so I imagined it was only a matter of time before he started digging his hands into the dirt."

Lorelai couldn't hide the surprised look on her face. "Wow, we go 11 months without any baby-related changes to the first floor, and then you hit me with them all in one week."

"He's becoming quite mobile now, it seemed like it was time," Emily said. "Come in, sit down."

They sat down on the couch and Emily went to the drink cart to pour their drinks.

"Where's Dad?" Lorelai asked.

"Manhattan," Emily replied, followed by a slightly aggravated sigh. "He had a couple of business meetings there today, and was supposed to be home this afternoon, but the last client meeting ran late and they invited him out to dinner. And of course, he couldn't say no."

"Is he staying over?" Rory asked.

"Yes, he didn't want to travel home too late, so he'll stay the night and come home tomorrow morning," Emily replied. She delivered the drinks and sat down on the loveseat next to Rory.

Lorelai and Luke were on the couch across from them, and Josh was on Luke's lap. He was trying to contain him for a few minutes before letting him crawl around. Lorelai had given him his sippy cup from the diaper bag and he was drinking it down like he was dying of thirst. He temporarily stopped drinking, panted for breath for a few moments, and then starting drinking some more.

Emily's eyes widened as she watched him. "Goodness. He seems dehydrated."

"He's not, he's just a dramatic drinker," Lorelai replied.

"Much like his mother at a bar," Rory added with a smirk.

Lorelai gasped. "Excuse me... I'm not dramatic, I'm colorful and entertaining."

"I can only imagine," Emily said dryly. She took a sip of her wine, and then set the glass on the coffee table. "So, your father and I have been discussing our plans for August. As you know, we'll be in Cape Cod for a few weeks, and our invitation still stands... we do wish you'd consider coming up for a visit."

Lorelai glanced at Luke before looking back at Emily. "We talked about it, Mom, and it sounds fun, but we shouldn't really leave town while the construction crew is still working on the house. They might need to consult with us, or show us something in person to see if we like it. We'd hate to hold up progress by not being available."

"Well, they don't work on the weekends, do they?" Emily asked. "Surely you can slip away for a day or two on a weekend."

"Uh, well - " Lorelai started.

"Josh would really love it, and Rory hasn't been up there in ages," Emily continued. "It would be lovely to have the whole family up there together."

Lorelai looked at Luke again and then at Rory. "Um, well, maybe, Mom," Lorelai finally replied. "Let's see how the renovation progresses, and we can talk about it again next month, okay?"

"All right, fine," Emily agreed, and she started asking Rory about her internship.

. . . . .

. . . . .

Later that evening, as they started the drive home, Lorelai said, "Did you notice how my mother pointed out all the helpful babyproofing changes she made right before mentioning Cape Cod? It's like she was hoping we'd be so happy and grateful that we'd agree to trek all the way up there."

"Well, maybe we should," Luke suggested. "If we go for just a weekend, it won't be so bad."

"A weekend with my parents? That's two days, Luke," Lorelai pointed out. "Two days... which is forty-eight hours, which is 46 more hours than I can handle at a time with them."

"Okay, yes, but here's the thing," Luke said calmly. "While you were in there thinking about how she did something nice for us so we'd consider going to Cape Cod, I was in there thinking about how if we go to Cape Cod, she might be willing to do us _another_ favor."

Lorelai narrowed her eyes. "What other favor do we need?"

"Well, August is probably when the painters will be at the house for a few days," Luke said. "They'll be doing upstairs and downstairs. They're gonna have to cover up all the furniture with drop cloths, the house is gonna be a mess. Plus, I'm sure the fumes aren't good for Josh, or you, or any of us, really... "

"So, what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that if we go to Cape Cod for a few days and get some time in with them like they want, then maybe they would be more inclined to let us stay at their house for a few days while the painting's going on."

Lorelai's eyes widened. "You want to stay at my parents' house? The house of evil?!"

"Hey, if they're not gonna be there, it'll kind of be like a vacation for us," Luke said. "I mean, there's already a nursery for Josh, you and I can sleep in your old room, Rory has her own room... it'd be much more comfortable and convenient than staying at the inn or something."

"But think about the long commute for us to go to work," Lorelai pointed out.

Luke shrugged. "Maybe we can try to take off a day or two, really make it into a little vacation. But if not, a little extra time in the car isn't a big deal. It'll be safer. It'll smell nicer. We'll have actual space to move around in for a few days. We can sit and relax by the pool. It might actually be fun." Luke glanced over at her with a sly smile. "We can recreate the only other time we were alone in that house without your parents, if you're feeling up to it."

Lorelai grinned as memories of their first night together in bed flooded her mind. "We won't be all alone this time. The kids will be there, too," she reminded him.

"The bedroom door locks," he replied. "And we're good at being quiet."

Lorelai nodded in agreement. "We've perfected it, much to our dismay."

"So, what do you think?" he asked.

"Well, you're doing a good job convincing me it could actually be fun," Lorelai replied. "But I'm not exactly looking forward to asking them. I don't know if they'll like the idea."

"Well, if they seem iffy and we _have_ to throw in something to help tip their response in our favor..." His voice trailed off and he shrugged. "We'll tell them you're pregnant. They're not going to let their granddaughter, grandson, _and_ pregnant daughter stay in a house of paint fumes. They're going to want to help."

"I guess," she agreed, and then she sighed. "So, I guess we're going to the Cape as a kind gesture?"

"Yeah, I think we should, just for a weekend." Seeing her unenthused reaction, Luke took one hand off the steering wheel, rested it on her leg, and gave it a little squeeze. "It'll be fine. I will be there the entire time and I will make sure _everything_ is fine."

Lorelai wagged her finger at him. "I'm gonna hold you to that, Mister."

. . . . .

. . . . .

A few weeks later, on Josh's actual birthday, Lorelai and Luke both took off from work to spend the day with him. They played with his favorite toys, fed him his favorite foods, and spent a long time at the park. They celebrated with cake at night, a small gathering with Sookie's family, Babette, and Morey. It was hard to host a party much bigger than that with the construction mess.

The next night was Emily and Richard's party for Josh. Lorelai, Luke and Josh drove separately from Rory and Mark, but they arrived within minutes of each other and walked to the front door together.

Emily answered the door and invited them in. Luke was holding Josh, and Emily focused her attention on him right away. "Well, hello, Joshua. Someone is one now, isn't he?" she said, squeezing his hand lightly. "Happy birthday."

"The house looks great, Mom," Lorelai said, glancing around. It looked to be as elegant as any other party thrown by Emily, and unsurprisingly, it was hard to tell it was actually for a one-year old. Guests hadn't started arriving yet, but they saw waitstaff rushing around setting things up.

"Wait until you see the cake," Emily said, stepping back from the baby. "You're gonna love it."

"Looking forward to it," Lorelai said, and then she glanced at Rory and Mark before adding, "Um, Mom, you remember Rory's friend Mark? I think you've met before."

Emily clutched her hand to her chest. "Oh, my, I'm sorry, I didn't see you back there. Hello, Mark."

"Hello." Mark stepped forward and extended his hand toward her. "Nice to see you again, Mrs. Gilmore."

"You, as well," Emily replied, and then said to Rory. "Why don't you go introduce him to your grandfather? He's in his study."

"Okay," Rory replied, and she led Mark toward the study.

Emily watched them walk away, and then turned to Lorelai. "What do we know about this boy?"

"Hmm," Lorelai hummed, and pondered for a moment. "Well, he's one year old, he likes goldfish crackers and apple juice, preferably diluted, and he has a giggle that will melt your heart."

Emily rolled her eyes. "You know who I meant, Lorelai."

Lorelai shook her head. "Mom, anything you want to know about Mark, you need to ask him or ask Rory. I'm focused on the birthday boy."

"Fine." Emily nodded toward the diaper bag. "Do you want me to have Elsa take that up to the nursery?"

"No, we can do it, we have to change him into his party clothes anyway," Luke replied.

Lorelai handed a small insulated bag to Emily. "Can you have Elsa put this in the kitchen, though? It's some snacks for Josh in case he was feeling like a picky eater tonight and didn't want stuffed mushroom caps or shrimp cocktail."

Emily took the bag from her, and Luke and Lorelai went upstairs with Josh. They had about fifteen minutes before guests would start arriving, and they lingered upstairs until that time ran out.

Emily and Richard's friends started filling up the house. Between mingling and snacking, Luke and Lorelai took turns chasing Josh around the house, making sure he didn't get trampled by party guests. He was in the early days of walking on his own, and he'd usually start off taking a few steps, and then collapse to the ground and start crawling away.

While Lorelai was with Josh in the living room, Luke had gone to find the tray of bacon-wrapped pineapple that a waiter was circulating, per Lorelai's request. He had to go into the kitchen to track him down and he put a few on a napkin.

As he was walking back to her, he saw her rushing down the foyer toward him holding Josh. "Hon, I need you to take him," she said. "Fast."

Luke quickly put down the food on the foyer table and brushed off his hands. "Everything okay?" he asked, visibly concerned. "What's wrong?"

Lorelai handed Josh off to Luke and patted her stomach. "There's a lady roaming around who must've bathed in perfume before she came, and it's making me feel sick. I have to go upstairs for a few minutes." Lorelai had been very sensitive to smells for the past few weeks, and nausea was a daily occurrence.

"Okay, go," Luke quickly replied. "I got him."

"Thank you." Lorelai headed down the hall, avoiding eye contact with anyone so she wouldn't get stopped for chit chat, and successfully made her way to the stairs.

Luke looked at Josh, who was staring back at him. "Hey, buddy." Josh stretched his hand down toward the food Luke had just set on the foyer table. "Are you hungry?" Luke asked him. "You want some food?"

Josh nodded yes, his response to most questions anyone posed to him.

Luke carried him to the kitchen, maneuvered around the catering staff preparing for dinner, and found the bag of food Lorelai had packed for him. He grabbed a Ziploc bag of diced cheddar cheese, and walked back into the dining room. He started meandering through the house, looking for somewhere to sit and feed him. He kept getting stopped by people to say hi to Josh and chat for a moment, and finally he made his way out the back door to the patio.

There were a few men out there chatting, and he nodded hello to them as he headed toward the bench on the other side of the patio. He sat down and placed Josh on the bench next to him. He opened up the bag of cheese and offered him a tiny cube of it. Josh accepted it with his teeth and started rocking happily as he chewed it down.

They sat there quietly working on the snack, and after a few minutes, Rory and Mark walked outside. "There you are," Rory said. "We couldn't find you guys. Where's Mom?"

"She wasn't feeling well, so she went upstairs a few minutes ago," Luke replied.

Rory frowned. "Aw. Is she okay?"

"I'm not sure. Would you mind running up and checking on her?" Luke asked. "Maybe bring her some water and see if she needs anything?"

"Sure," Rory quickly replied, and then said to Mark, "I'll be right back."

"Okay," Mark replied, and Rory looked almost hesitant to leave him.

Luke noticed her hesitation and told her, "I'll make sure he doesn't get hammered with questions from anyone."

Rory smiled. "Thanks."

As Rory walked away, Luke patted the empty spot on the bench on the other side of Josh. "Come, sit, join us for cheese time," Luke said. Mark smiled as he sat down with them, and Luke asked, "So, how's it going? How are you liking the party?"

"It's good," Mark replied with a nod. "It's definitely not like any other one-year old's birthday party I've been to." He tugged at his lapels. "I mean, I'm wearing a suit, for one... I've never worn a suit to a birthday party before, and certainly not a child's."

Luke smirked. "Yeah. They don't really do 'casual' here."

"I'm glad Rory prepared me about how fancy the party would be and the type of people that would be here because it's not really something I'm used to," Mark said.

"Trust me, I know the big fancy house can seem a little intimidating at first," Luke told him. "But don't let it scare you off."

"Oh, I won't," Mark assured him. "I'm just taking it all in."

"And remember, this is how her grandparents are, but it's not how Rory is," Luke added. "She loves her grandparents, she respects them, so she goes along with the fancy parties and charity events and things like that... Lorelai, too. But as you can see, the girls are not living the same type of life."

"Yeah, I definitely see the difference," Mark said.

"And a word of advice, don't feel like you need to try too hard to impress the grandparents," Luke told him. "Just be polite and be yourself... that's what I do." He gestured toward the house. "None of this stuff is up my alley... I own a diner in a small town that I grew up in and never left. I bet most of these people don't even know what a diner is."

Mark smiled. "Well _, I_ do, and I'm a big fan."

Luke smiled. "Good. You'll have to come in sometime." He fed Josh some more cheese and focused on him for a moment before looking back at Mark. "So, I kind of assumed that most kids at Yale came from this type of lifestyle. Not you, I guess?"

"Nope, we're a middle class family all the way," Mark replied. "My parents work really hard and they're really supportive. They've always encouraged us to go after what we want and to give a hundred percent at whatever we're doing. So, when they found out I wanted to go to an Ivy League school, they didn't try to dissuade me from it because it was expensive... they just encouraged me to work really hard to get there."

"They sound like good people," Luke said sincerely.

"They are," Mark agreed. "And I worked hard and I got into Yale with a partial scholarship for track and - " His voice trailed off and he shook his head slightly. "Sorry, I'm rambling on, telling you my life story," he said embarrassedly. "I think this house might be making me nervous."

Luke smiled. "Join the club."

"But to answer your question... no, we're a middle class family who eats at diners and doesn't wear suits to birthday parties."

Luke let out a small laugh. This was the longest conversation he'd ever had with Mark one-on-one, and he was starting to get a better sense of his personality and who he was. He had to admit that he seemed like a good guy.

As Luke offered Josh another piece of cheese, Josh pushed it away. "You're done eating?" Luke asked him. "You thirsty?" Luke brought Josh onto his lap and glanced at the bench, realizing he hadn't grabbed his cup from the kitchen. "Shoot. Your drink's inside."

"Want me to run in and get it?" Mark offered.

"I'm not sending you in there alone," Luke told him. "Rory will kill me."

Mark smiled. "Well, I can sit out here with him while you go in, if that's easier for you."

Mark had spent some time at Luke and Lorelai's house before they left for the party, and had played with Josh for most of that time. Luke knew he'd be fine with him for a few minutes.

"Okay, sure, thanks," Luke agreed, and he passed Josh over to Mark. "If he starts squirming to get down, just walk around with him." He lowered his voice and added, "Don't let him crawl out here... he'll get dirty and Emily will have a fit."

"Got it."

Luke went inside to get Josh's cup, and noticed that people were lined up in the dining room for the dinner buffet. He maneuvered past them and grabbed Josh's cup from the kitchen, and then started to head back outside.

"Luke, there you are!" Emily exclaimed from down the hall, causing him to turn around. She was briskly walking toward him. "I couldn't find you or Lorelai or Josh anywhere! People have been looking for the guest of honor and he disappeared."

"Sorry, Emily, I was feeding him a snack out back where it was quieter," Luke replied, and he held up his cup. "Just gonna go hydrate him and change him, and then we'll be back at the party."

"Where's Lorelai? I haven't seen her in a long time," Emily said.

"I'm right here," a voice said, and they turned to see Lorelai walking toward them with Rory. "There you are, Mom, I couldn't find you anywhere. Must've been caught up in some good DAR gossip, huh?"

"I most certainly was not," Emily replied, and then narrowed her eyes from Lorelai to Luke. "Wait... where's my grandson?"

"He's out back with Mark," Luke replied.

Emily, Lorelai, and Rory all reacted with similar surprised looks, although Emily didn't look as amused as the girls.

"Really?" Rory asked with a smirk, and she started walking toward the back door.

"Wait, can you take this?" Luke offered her the cup, and she continued heading outside with it.

"You left him with a stranger?" Emily asked in disbelief.

"Mark's not a stranger, he was playing with Josh at our house before we came here," Lorelai said. "And I don't hear screaming, so that's a good sign. Why don't you go get something to eat, Mom? We'll circulate with Josh in a little while. He needs to take breaks from all the people so he doesn't get overwhelmed and cranky. When your guests look back on this party, you don't want the one thing they remember most to be a crying, cranky birthday boy, do you?"

Emily considered that, and then reluctantly went to join the buffet line. Luke took Lorelai's hand and led her down the hall for some privacy.

"Everything okay?" Luke asked her.

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah. I rested for a few minutes, and Rory brought me some water and crackers, and yada yada yada, I'm okay now." She glanced into the living room. "But keep me away from the lady in the peach dress because I'm pretty much a ticking time bomb."

"Got it." He took her hand and started leading her down the hall. "Do you wanna eat?"

"Not really."

They went out back and found Rory holding Josh, and he was squirming in her arms. "He really wants to get down and crawl around," she told them.

Lorelai took him from her. "Come here, baby," she said cheerfully. "How about we go play upstairs for a few minutes? You can crawl around in your room free as a bird without getting trampled by old people." She quickly glanced around before adding, "Oops, sorry to any nearby old people. Big fan of _Golden Girls_ and _Cocoon_."

"The food's out," Luke told Rory and Mark. "If you guys are hungry."

"Yeah, I think we'll go check out the buffet," Rory said. "Come get us if you need anything."

"Okay. If anyone asks, we're changing him and we'll be right down," Lorelai said.

"Got it."

They all walked inside, and Rory and Mark headed to the dining room, and Lorelai and Luke went upstairs with Josh. They shut themselves in the nursery, and Lorelai put Josh on the floor so he could wander around and explore. Luke pulled out a couple of toys from the diaper bag for him, and then he and Lorelai sat in the rocking chairs to watch him play.

Lorelai glanced over at Luke. "So, Rory said she left you and Mark in the backyard. How was that?"

"It was good, we were chatting," he replied. "He seems like a good guy... smart, down to earth, easy to talk to... seems to have a good head on his shoulders."

Lorelai smiled and she raised an eyebrow. "Wow. Dare I say you might _approve_ of him?"

"I might," Luke replied with a smirk. "So far."

"Good." She wrinkled her nose as she added, "Rory thinks this party might be a little overwhelming for him."

Luke shook his head. "Nah, not overwhelming, just... different. He mentioned that he's not really used to the rich, fancy lifestyle. Told him I wasn't either."

Lorelai smiled. "So, you two had a little bonding thing."

Luke shrugged. "Yeah, maybe."

Lorelai reached over and patted his hand. "Good. That's cute."

Luke took her hand into his and he squeezed it. "Are you really feeling okay, or were you forcing yourself to get back to the party before your mother tracked you down?"

"I'm okay," she assured him.

"I don't want you overdoing it," Luke said. "Especially tomorrow. I know what you're like when you're throwing a party... you're always running around all over the place."

"I'm not gonna do that," Lorelai told him. "That's one of the benefits of having it at the inn, the staff will do the running around for me. You and I can just relax and enjoy the party and watch Joshy have fun."

"Good."

"As for tonight," Lorelai said, glancing at her watch, "we have about another hour or so of not relaxing while we try to make our kid somehow enjoy this party that's for him, but feels like a retirement party for an accountant." She exhaled a sigh. "Can we make it?"

"We can make it," Luke confirmed. "It'll go fast. People are eating now. We'll have cake soon, we'll mingle a little more, then we'll get out of here." He squeezed her hand as he added, "And you will tell me if you don't feel well, right?"

Lorelai smiled. "I promise."

"Thank you."

. . . . .

. . . . .

The next morning, Lorelai and Rory headed to the inn to help decorate for Josh's party, and Luke stayed home to try to keep to Josh's normal routine. They wanted to get him down for his regular nap, or else he'd end up melting down halfway through the party.

The girls stopped at the diner to pick up coffee, and as they were driving to the inn, Lorelai glanced over at Rory. "So, you were late getting home last night."

After the party at Emily and Richard's house, Rory had driven Mark to the inn, where he was staying for the weekend. Lorelai, Luke and Josh were all in bed when Rory had gotten home close to one, but Lorelai was only half-asleep and heard the car door slam out front.

Rory looked over at her apologetically. "Yeah, sorry, did I wake you? I was trying to be extra quiet."

"It's okay, I was in and out all night," Lorelai said. "You know, had a lot on my mind worrying about the party and stuff. Parties are stressful, even when you're a savant at throwing them like I am." She failed to mention she was also wondering all night if Rory would end up staying over at the inn. "So, you guys were just hanging out?"

"Yeah, we chatted for a little while, and then we watched some tv."

"Chatting and tv, that's it?" Lorelai asked.

"Uh, yeah, unless you wanted to elevate yourself into a super creepy category of parenting and make me confirm that, yes, there was also some kissing."

Lorelai nodded quickly. "And the kissing... did that just stop at your basic kissing, or... "

"Mom," Rory said, cocking her head to the side. "Come on... super creepy."

"What? I'm just saying, you and your boyfriend - who you rarely see in person - had a very private room for the night... it's not crazy to think you might want to take advantage of that," Lorelai said, and then she put her hand on her chest. "Because teenage Lorelai sure as hell would have." Before Rory could respond, Lorelai added, "And you know I'm not asking in a judgmental way, right? I'm asking in a curious way, just making conversation. You're an adult in an adult relationship, and I'm supportive of whatever decisions you make."

"I know, Mom," Rory assured her. "But you're asking me to describe the level of kissing I had with my boyfriend last night, which is a weird conversation to have on our way to decorate for my brother's beach-themed first birthday party. Can we just focus on that instead?"

Lorelai nodded. "Yes, okay, fine, sorry. Focusing on the party."

They arrived at the inn, and while Rory went up to get Mark from his room, Lorelai had a quick chat with the event staff to see how things were going. Jess was there helping set up for the event, and he walked with Lorelai to the Jeep to help unload some things.

Lorelai reached into the trunk to grab a box, and Jess asked, "Are you supposed to carry stuff? You know, because you're..." His voice trailed off as he gestured awkwardly to her stomach. As far as he knew, her pregnancy was still a secret.

"A woman?" Lorelai jokingly suggested.

Jess rolled his eyes, not unlike Luke would have. "That's not what I meant."

Lorelai smiled. "I know what you meant. And I can carry the light stuff," she told him, and she patted a cardboard box filled with water bottles that they'd put special party-themed labels on. "But this one is all you."

Jess grabbed that box as she grabbed a lighter one. "No one knows about it?"

"Just Sookie's family," Lorelai replied as they started walking toward the inn. "We'll probably tell my parents next week after our first doctor's appointment, but we're gonna try to keep it quiet from the town for a little while longer."

"Good idea. Once they get wind of it, it's all they'll wanna talk about."

"Yup. You picked up on Stars Hollow's modus operandi pretty quickly."

"Yeah, like my second day in this town."

They carried the boxes to the back porch, and then Jess went back to the Jeep to get another one. Some staffers were putting up a large tent behind the porch, and others were starting to bring out tables and chairs.

Lorelai was unpacking a box of decorations when she heard a voice behind her ask, "You need some help?"

Lorelai suddenly became still. She hadn't heard that voice in a long time, and she slowly turned around, gasping when she confirmed who it belonged to. "Oh, my God - Mia!"

"How's my favorite employee?" Mia asked, smiling at her.

Lorelai walked over and gave her a big hug. "It's so good to see you." As she pulled back, she said, "What are you doing here? You said you couldn't make it to the party."

"Plans changed, and I made it work," Mia said. "Besides, I needed a break from that beautiful Santa Barbara weather, so I thought I'd check out the Connecticut humidity."

"I'm so excited you're here!" Lorelai said, smiling happily. "We haven't seen you in so long. You look great."

Mia ran her hands up and down Lorelai's arms. "Look at you, you're as beautiful as ever. Hopefully your husband reminds you of that often."

Lorelai smiled and nodded. "He is very good at acknowledging my beauty."

"Good." Mia glanced around. "Where is that Lucas anyway? Is he here?"

"No, he's at home with the baby," Lorelai replied. "Rory and I came to help get things set up, and then we're gonna go back home and change." Lorelai gestured to her t-shirt and jeans. "As you can see, I'm not yet in my party attire."

Mia smiled. "So, where's Rory?"

"She went up to get her boyfriend," Lorelai said, with a raise of her eyebrow. "He's staying here at the inn because our house is a renovation disaster. They're gonna come down and help me with the setup."

"College boyfriend, huh?" Mia asked, matching Lorelai's raised eyebrow. "What do we think of him?"

"We like him," Lorelai confirmed. "He's smart and polite and has a good sense of humor. Plus, he survived a party last night at my parents' house, so he's brave and resilient."

Mia smiled. "I look forward to meeting him." She cocked her head a little as she asked, "And how are your parents doing? Everyone getting along?"

Lorelai nodded positively. "Yeah, surprisingly. We see them regularly, we keep them involved... they like spoiling Josh, which you know I don't love, but you know there's no stopping 'em."

"No, there's not," Mia agreed.

Jess appeared with two more boxes and set them on the porch. "Oh, Mia, you remember Luke's nephew, Jess?" Lorelai said. "Jess, remember Mia, she owns the inn?"

"Oh, right, Liz's son," Mia said with a smile. "How are you doing, Jess?"

Jess nodded toward her. "Hello."

"Jess has been helping out with the event staff this summer, so he's technically one of your employees," Lorelai said.

"Well, thanks for your hard work," Mia said to him.

"Thanks for the paycheck," Jess said, giving her a little nod. He looked at Lorelai and gestured toward the parking lot area. "There are a couple more things to grab, then the car will be empty."

"Okay, great, thanks," Lorelai said.

As Jess walked away, Mia asked Lorelai, "Liz and Luke are in contact pretty regularly now, right? Is she coming today?"

"Yes, they are in contact," Lorelai confirmed. "But she couldn't make it today. She and her husband stopped by a few days ago to visit and drop off a present for Josh... they were on their way to Pennsylvania for a Renaissance Faire this weekend."

"Ah, maybe I'll get to see her next time I'm in town," Mia said.

Lorelai gestured toward the back door of the inn. "Let's go in and find Rory," she said to Mia. "She's gonna be so excited to see you."

. . . . .

. . . . .

They spent some time setting up for the party, and then Lorelai went home to get herself and Josh ready. She saw him sleeping in the crib when she got home, and found Luke folding a pile of laundry on the kitchen table.

"Hey," Lorelai greeted him softly.

"Hi," Luke said. "How's everything look?"

Lorelai grinned. "It looks great. It's going to be a great party." She sat down at the table and helped him fold a pile of Josh's clothes. "And guess who's in town?"

"Who?"

"Mia! She was able to make it."

Luke's eyes widened as he smiled. "Really? That's great. It'll be good to see her."

"She looks amazing," Lorelai said. "And she seems so happy." She exhaled a sigh. "Which sucks because I have to ruin her happiness by stabbing her in the back with a knife by telling her I'll be leaving."

"You're gonna tell her _today_?" Luke asked, surprised.

"I don't know, maybe," Lorelai asked, and then she wrinkled her nose. "I know it's not ideal first-birthday-party conversation, but I feel like the universe is giving me a sign by bringing her out here to me. Like I need to get it over with, rip the Band Aid." She thought for a moment and then shrugged. "Or maybe not, I don't know. I'm going to play it by ear and if we're alone together and it feels right, I'll tell her."

"Okay, playing it by ear it is," Luke said.

"How was he? He went down for his nap okay?"

"Yup. He ate a good lunch, we played, and he's been down for..." He checked his watch. "... about an hour and twenty minutes. He should be well-rested and ready to party like a wild crazy one year old."

Lorelai smiled and reached across the table to pat his arm. "Nice job getting him to stick to his schedule, hon. You did good."

Luke tipped his cap. "Thank you." He watched as she ate a grape from the fruit bowl on the table, and nodded toward her. "You eat anything today?"

"I had a bag of pretzels at the inn," Lorelai replied. "Mia invited us out for lunch, but I wanted to get home to get ready. Rory and Mark are out with her now."

"You need something more substantial than pretzels," Luke told her, and he walked over to the fridge. He pulled it open and peered inside. "What do you feel like?"

"Hmm, not sure," Lorelai replied, trying to glance into the fridge from her seat. "Can you pull that open more?"

Luke pulled the door open wider and Lorelai scanned the shelves looking for something to jump out at her. "How about the leftover pasta salad?"

Luke grabbed the container and shut the fridge, and then grabbed her a fork. She made space on the table in front of her by pushing the piles of laundry over, and he set the bowl and fork down. "Thank you," she said.

"Drink?" he offered.

"Nice cold beer, please," Lorelai replied, batting her eyelashes up at him.

Luke smirked. "Sure, in about 7 months," he told her. He grabbed her a cold water bottle from the fridge and then sat back down at the table.

Lorelai started eating, and glanced at the clock on the microwave. "We have an hour and a half before we should head back."

"Okay. He should be up soon."

"Hopefully he wakes up happy." Lorelai took another bite of food, and then looked at him with a curious look. "I wonder how my mom's gonna be around Mia... she might be a little standoffish."

"Why?"

"Uh, because she believes Mia stole her daughter and granddaughter away instead of promptly sending them back home to the place they ran away from?" Lorelai suggested.

"Oh, right, that," Luke replied. "Well, it's highly unlikely she's going to make a big scene at her grandson's first birthday party."

Lorelai cocked her head to the side and gave him a look.

He thought it over, and then nodded. "Okay, there may actually be a pretty good chance."

. . . . .

. . . . .

A few hours later, the party was in full swing at the inn. Staffers were starting to clean up the lunch buffet so they could put out the cake and other desserts. People were mingling and playing various games that were set up around the yard.

There was a volleyball game going on at the far end of the grounds, and a game of horseshoes nearby. A crowd had gathered near the cornhole game, where Mark and Jess had teamed up to take on Zach and Brian, and Rory and Lane were hanging out on the sidelines.

Emily was discussing antiques with Mrs. Kim, and Richard had found himself in a lengthy discussion about business ownership with Andrew and Gypsy. Sookie was inside making sure the cake looked perfect before the staff brought it out. Buddy and Maisie were chatting and laughing with Babette and Morey.

Lorelai had filled a small inflatable swimming pool with plastic balls to create a little ball pit for the kids to play in. Lorelai, Luke, and Jackson were watching Josh and Davey crawl around inside of it.

They heard applause, and they looked over toward the cornhole game. Mark and Jess had just won their game, and were getting ready to take on the next set of challengers.

Lorelai smiled. "Looks like they're having a good time."

"Yeah, it does," Luke agreed, and he glanced around to see what else was going on. "Where's Mia?"

"She went inside with Sookie," Jackson replied. "She wanted to check on the kitchen and make sure everything was up to par in there."

"Hey, Luke!" a voice called, and they all looked over to see Lane walking toward them. "I have a message from Kirk."

"Why isn't Kirk over here giving me the message himself?" Luke replied.

"He said it would seem cooler if someone delivers the message for him," Lane replied.

"It does," Lorelai agreed.

"It doesn't," Luke said dryly. "What does he want?"

"Well, people over there were talking about Kirk's special sandwich and how they wish you were still selling it," Lane said. "So, Kirk wants to challenge you to a cornhole match, and if he wins, he gets to have his menu item back up for another week."

Luke rolled his eyes. "Forget it."

Lorelai reached over and patted his arm. "Come on, you can take him. It'll be fun to watch."

"I'm not putting that heart attack sandwich back on the menu," Luke said.

"Well, you won't have to if you win," Lorelai pointed out.

"What do I get if _I_ win?" Luke asked Lane.

"He is offering 7 free car washes when he starts up his new mobile car washing business," Lane replied. "Official start date to be determined once he decides on the name."

"Mobile car wash?" Luke replied. "So, he comes to the house and uses our water to wash _our_ cars?"

"Sounds like it, yes," Lane confirmed.

"Come on, Luke, we like shiny, freshly-washed cars," Lorelai said. "Accept the challenge. Even if you lose and have to put Kirk's special 'cheeseburger topped with a hot dog topped with macaroni and cheese' sandwich back on the menu, no big deal... it was a big seller."

"Which shows you how truly disgusting this town is," Luke muttered.

"Hey, two of those disgusting townies live with you," Lorelai reminded him. "Rory and I loved it."

"So, what should I tell him?" Lane asked.

Luke looked over at Lorelai, who was smiling hopefully at him, and then he reluctantly told Lane, "Tell him maybe later after we cut the cake."

Lorelai clapped her hands excitedly. "Yay!"

"Okay, I'll let him know," Lane said.

As Lane walked off, Luke groaned. "This town is nuts."

Lorelai grinned. "This town is amazing."

Luke saw Josh trying to climb out of the ball pit. He jumped up from his chair to catch him before he tumbled over the edge. "You trying to escape, buddy?" He picked him up and Josh immediately pointed at the centerpiece of balloons on the closest table. He'd been fascinated with the assorted balloons all over the yard, and kept wanting to play with them.

"Aw, balloons are his favorite, and he's been surrounded by them all day and hasn't even been able to play with them," Lorelai said, standing up from her chair. "He's waited long enough." She walked over to the tables and grabbed two centerpieces of balloon bouquets, each tied to a little stuffed fish to keep them from floating away.

Lorelai handed one balloon bouquet to Josh and the other to Davey. "Have at 'em, boys."

Luke put Josh back down in the ball pit to play with the balloons, and then gestured toward the porch. "I need a drink... anyone else?"

"I'm good," Jackson said, holding up his red plastic cup. "Still working on this."

"I'll take some lemonade," Lorelai said, and she fanned herself with her hand. "It's hot out here."

"I'll be right back," Luke said.

As Luke headed toward the drink area on the side of the porch, he ran into Mia coming out of the inn's back door. "Oh, good, just the man I was looking for," she said, and she started walking with him toward the drinks.

"Sookie just told me some news," Mia said. "News I assume Lorelai was planning to tell me herself."

Luke's eyes widened with surprise and he stopped walking. "I'm sorry, Mia... Lorelai has been wanting to talk to you about it, but she's just been busy. You know how it is, with the little guy and everything."

Mia nodded understandably. "Yes, I know, I get it. It's very exciting, though. But I wasn't sure if I should say anything to her yet or if I should wait for her to bring it up to tell me herself... what do you think?"

"You can bring it up," Luke replied. "I think she'll be relieved that you know and she doesn't have to muster up the courage to tell you."

Mia looked confused. "Muster up the courage? Was she afraid to tell me?"

Luke shrugged. "Well, she wasn't sure how you would take it. It's always been this long-term goal for her and Sookie to start their own inn, and she knows that you support that, but now that it has some solid timing on it, it's a little emotional for her."

Luke didn't seem to notice the confusion that appeared on Mia's face while he was talking. "Wait, what are you talking about?" she asked him, narrowing her eyes at him.

Luke narrowed his eyes back at her. "What are _you_ talking about?" he countered.

Mia glanced around quickly to make sure no one was nearby. "Sookie said that Lorelai is expecting, and that it's still a secret," Mia said. "She didn't mention anything about opening their own inn. There's solid timing on it now?"

Luke's eyes widened, realizing he'd spilled the beans himself. "Shit." He exhaled a defeated sigh and rubbed his temple, and then started to explain things to Mia.

Meanwhile, Patty and Babette had stopped by the ball pit area to chat with Lorelai and Jackson while the babies played with the balloons. When Davey started whining, Jackson took him inside to change him and heat up a bottle.

When the ladies saw Rory walking toward them, Miss Patty called, "Rory, how's your gentlemen friend doing?"

Rory smiled. "He's fine, thanks for asking."

"We like him, doll," Babette added. "Easy on the eyes, and not a bad personality either."

"Thanks. He likes you guys, too," Rory replied as she sat down in Jackson's seat.

"You're being a very supportive girlfriend cheering him on over there," Miss Patty said.

"It's pretty fun just watching other people be active," Rory replied. "I feel like I was made for this."

"We don't have a lot of athleticism in our genes, but man, we're good at watching people show off theirs," Lorelai said, and then she glanced off into the distance, looking for Luke. "Where's Luke? He went to get me a drink a few minutes ago and never came back."

"You know how easy it is to get sidetracked at a party," Babette said. "People keep stopping you to chat and what not."

"We can go track him down for you," Miss Patty said. "We were gonna head inside to the little girls' room anyway."

"Okay, just make sure he's not lying somewhere unconscious," Lorelai said.

"Permission to give him mouth to mouth if the situation calls for it?" Miss Patty asked.

"Permission granted," Lorelai said with a smirk.

As Babette and Patty walked away, Lorelai reached over and patted Rory's leg. "How are you doing?" Lorelai asked.

"Good. Really good," Rory confirmed with a nod. "The party's great, Mom. All the little details you put into it are fantastic."

"Thank you," Lorelai replied, smiling at her. "Everyone seems to be having a good time. Even Mr. and Mrs. Fancypants."

Rory glanced around. "I haven't seen Grandma and Grandpa for awhile. Are they still here?"

"Yeah, after they ate, they started mingling with people, and from what I saw, were doing an okay job at making what one might call 'normal chit-chat.'" Lorelai cocked her head to the side in disbelief. "Not sure what that's about."

Rory smiled. "They're just trying to fit it with this side of your life."

"Yeah, well, we don't want them to fit in too well, they'll start wanting to be more involved with it." Lorelai noticed Josh trying to crawl out of the ball pit, and she helped him out and put him on the grass. He walked a few steps and then started crawling, and she followed him.

Rory stood up and started walking with them as she watched the cornhole game from across the lawn. "Mark is so much more relaxed today as compared to last night's party."

"Yeah, he seems to be getting along well with everyone," Lorelai said.

"Yeah." Rory was quiet for a moment, smiling to herself, and then her face suddenly grew serious. She swallowed hard and looked over at Lorelai. "So, Mom..."

Lorelai was staring down at Josh, making sure he didn't start putting pieces of grass into his mouth, like he sometimes tried to do. "Yeah?" she distractedly replied.

"Um, remember what we were talking about this morning in the car?" Rory asked. "About how I was late getting home last night..."

Lorelai temporarily froze before lifting her eyes to look at Rory. "Yes."

"Um... well... I didn't want to stress you out _before_ the party, so I didn't say anything," Rory started. "But it's really hard keeping things from you, so I feel like I have to get it out."

Lorelai's eyes widened a little and her heart started to race. "Get what out?"

Rory looked down at the grass as she fidgeted with her bracelet. "Um, well, more happened last night than I let on..." She lifted her head to meet Lorelai's gaze, and added, "You know, with Mark... in his room." Rory gritted her teeth a little as she waited for Lorelai to respond.

Before Lorelai could react or say anything, they heard a voice from the across the yard calling, "Lorelai! Lorelai!"

Lorelai looked up and saw Sookie briskly heading toward them, with Luke right behind her. Both of them looked anxious about something.

When they got to her, Sookie blurted out in a loud whisper, "I accidentally told Mia you were pregnant."

"And I accidentally told her you might be opening your own inn within the next 3 years," Luke added, and then he held out a cup toward her. "Here's your lemonade."

. . . . .

. . . . .

 **To be continued...**

 **Author's Note:** I just hit the one-year mark of this story, and I want to thank those who are still following along! Extra thanks to the readers who have taken the time to review and let me know you're out there - I can't even tell you how much it's appreciated. :)


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

. . . . .

. . . . .

Lorelai's eyes were wide as she looked from Rory to Sookie to Luke, digesting the pieces of information she had just received. Out of nowhere, she was hit by a wave of dizziness, her eyes fell closed, and she collapsed to the ground.

Luke's eyes widened and he dropped her cup of lemonade on the grass. "Lorelai!" he exclaimed as he fell to his knees beside her, a deeply concerned look on his face.

Rory gasped and clasped a hand over her mouth. "Oh, my God... did she just pass out?"

"She'll be okay, it happens," Sookie said, feeling just as anxious but trying to exude calmness for Rory's sake. "People faint all the time."

Luke squeezed Lorelai's hand. "Lorelai, wake up, come on," he urged.

"She's waking up," Sookie eagerly said, pointing at Lorelai's face. She comfortingly rubbed Rory's shoulder. "Look at her eyes."

Lorelai's eyes fluttered open, and when she saw everyone staring at her, it took her a moment to realize that she was on the ground.

Rory leaned down over her mother. "Mom, are you okay? You fainted."

Lorelai nodded a little as she replied, "Yeah. I'm fine. I hope it was a graceful fall, at least."

"Are you okay to sit up?" Luke asked her. She nodded and he helped her sit up, and then he rubbed her back gently. "Are you sure you're okay? Did you hurt anything?"

"No, no, I'm good," Lorelai insisted, and then she glanced around. "Where's the boy?"

Josh was oblivious to his mother's current situation and was still crawling on the grass heading toward the cake table. "He's right there, I'll get him," Sookie said, rushing toward him.

While a lot of the partygoers were spread throughout the yard and didn't notice the fall, a few concerned guests who were nearby were now gathered around them.

As Luke helped her to her feet, Lorelai announced, "I'm fine, everyone. Probably just dehydrated... it's hot out here."

"You sure you're okay?" Gypsy asked.

"Did you bump your head?" Mrs. Kim asked.

"Do you need some ice?" Andrew asked.

Lorelai shook her head. "No, I'm okay... thanks, everyone. Just feeling a little stupid." She smiled as she waved everyone off. "Now, go enjoy the party, I promise I'm fine."

As people started to scatter and go back to what they were doing, Lorelai looked around. "My parents didn't see that, did they? Because my mother will add that to her list of reasons why outdoor birthday parties pale in comparison to the elegant indoor parties at Chateau de Gilmore." She mimicked Emily's voice as she added, "You don't ever see anyone fainting at one of _our_ parties now, do you Lorelai?"

"Well, I think you're safe," Sookie replied, holding Josh in her arms. "I passed them when I was coming out of the inn a few minutes ago. They were both heading inside to get out of the heat."

"Which is exactly what we should be doing," Luke said. "Let's get you into the air conditioning for a few minutes. Maybe we can sit in your office?"

Lorelai could tell that he was concerned, so even though she felt fine, she knew that taking a little break would make him feel better. "Okay. Just for a minute, then we have to do the cake."

"Sookie, can you hold down the fort for a few minutes?" Luke asked, and then nodded toward Josh in her arms. "With him _and_ the party?"

"Yup, I got it," Sookie quickly replied with a nod. "Take your time. I'll make sure everything's ready for us to sing and cut the cake."

As Luke and Rory started walking with Lorelai toward the inn, Rory asked, "Shouldn't you go to the hospital or get checked out or something?"

"Yeah, that's not a bad idea," Luke added.

Lorelai shrugged. "I feel like it might be a waste of time. I don't think they're able to do anything for a fainting spell. Fainting just happens sometimes."

"Mom, they can do some tests and make sure there's nothing else going on. Your body's telling you something," Rory said worriedly. "You should get checked out. What if something's wrong with the baby?"

"Shhh," Lorelai calmly said, glancing around nonchalantly to make sure no one heard that.

Rory winced. "Oh, sorry," she whispered.

"Honey, trust me, if I felt like something was wrong in any way right now, I'd go to the hospital," Lorelai said. "But I feel fine, I'm not in any pain, and I have a doctor's appointment in two days... I'll mention it to her then, I promise. But it's hot out here, I've been on my feet a lot, I haven't really been eating or drinking enough today... I really do think I'm just dehydrated." She glanced over at Luke, adding, "In fact, hon, can you go grab me a bottle of water?"

"Oh, yeah, sure," Luke quickly replied. "I'll meet you inside."

Luke headed toward the drinks, and Rory and Lorelai continued walking toward the back door. Rory stopped Lorelai before they walked inside, looked back at Luke to make sure he was out of earshot, and then whispered, "Was it because of what I said, Mom?" Rory asked her. "It is, isn't it? You were so shocked that I made you pass out!"

"Honey, it wasn't because of what you said," Lorelai said softly. "But I do still wanna talk about that with you, okay? Not in-depth creepy details, but you know... just basic stuff."

Rory nodded. "Okay."

"But it'll have to be later because Luke's definitely not gonna leave my side the rest of the party," Lorelai said, smiling. "I know him, he's gonna be on high alert."

"We all are," Rory said. "I mean, come on... it was terrifying to see you crumble to the ground."

Lorelai rubbed Rory's arm. "Sorry to scare you like that."

"I forgive you," Rory said. "Just promise if it happens again, you'll go to the hospital, okay?"

"I promise," Lorelai said, holding up her hand. "Scout's honor." She cocked her head to the side as she added, "Now, just one question to hold me over until we can properly discuss things... _you're_ okay, right? Emotionally, you know... everything's good? Because if we need to talk right now, we can lock ourselves in my office for a little while and talk."

Rory shook her head. "No, that's not necessary... everything's good," she confirmed. "I'm good."

"Okay, good," Lorelai said, giving her shoulder a squeeze. "We'll talk later, then."

They walked into the inn and headed toward Lorelai's office, and within moments, Luke joined them with bottled water for both girls.

"People are talking about the fainting," Luke said as he sat down. "A few people stopped me to ask if you were okay."

"Oh, great, so the news is making the rounds, lovely," Lorelai said, and then she took a long sip of water. She swallowed it down, and then exhaled a deep breath. "Okay, the last thing I remember before wiping out is that Mia now knows about the pregnancy _and_ the new inn? Am I remembering that right or was that just a dream?"

Luke grimaced a little. "You're remembering that right."

"And _how_ exactly did that happen?" Lorelai prompted him.

"Well, somehow the pregnancy news slipped out when she was talking with Sookie," Luke replied. "I'm not sure how, you'd have to ask her. But Mia came up to me right after that and said she heard some news, and like an idiot, I assumed it was about the new inn, so I mentioned that and she looked shocked."

"So, within a matter of minutes, 2 of my 3 most trusted confidantes spilled both of my big secrets," Lorelai stated.

"Pretty much," Luke confirmed, nodding.

Lorelai patted Rory's hand. "Well, a special thank you to the other of my most trusted confidantes for not slipping up."

"You're welcome," Rory replied proudly.

"Are you angry?" Luke asked.

"No, of course not," Lorelai assured him, waving it off. "It was an accident, it's no big deal. I just have to talk to Mia and sort things out."

"She seemed understanding," Luke offered.

"Of course she did, she's Mia," Lorelai replied. "Mia's always understanding. I just don't want her to be upset that it didn't come from me."

"Right," Luke replied. He watched her finish up her water bottle, and then asked, "Are you sure everything's okay? Just close your eyes and make sure that nothing hurts or feels weird."

Lorelai obliged, and she closed her eyes for a few seconds. When she opened them, she declared, "Okay, in my moment of reflection, I've discovered that I do have one teeny tiny problem - a very full bladder."

"And that's it?" Luke asked. "Everything else is fine?"

"Yes, I promise." Lorelai stood up from her chair. "I'm hitting the ladies' room, I'll meet you guys outside."

The three of them left the office. Luke and Rory headed back outside, and Lorelai walked to the bathroom in the lobby. As she was heading into a stall, she saw Mia coming out of one.

"Oh, hey," Lorelai greeted her, feeling a little nervous.

"Hi, there," Mia replied. "Great party."

Lorelai smiled. "Thank you." She walked into the stall and closed the door, but continued talking. "Listen, I want us to have a chat after we cut the cake, okay? I know you heard about the new inn and you know that I'm expecting again, and I feel really bad that you didn't find out those things from me directly, and I want us to discuss them while you're here in person."

"Don't worry about it today, Lorelai," Mia replied, pausing to wash her hands in the sink before continuing. "I mean it, you should just relax and enjoy the party. Maybe we can meet up tomorrow and chat, I'm not flying out until tomorrow night."

Lorelai exhaled a sigh of relief. "Okay. Yeah, that sounds good... thank you."

"Congratulations, by the way," Mia said. "I knew it wouldn't be long before you two brought another beautiful kid into the world."

Lorelai smiled to herself as she replied, "Thank you."

"I'll see you outside," Mia said, and she left the bathroom.

Lorelai relaxed a little and took a few deep breaths, and then she heard a toilet flush. Her eyes widened - she hadn't realized there was anyone else in the bathroom. She heard another stall open and high heels walk across the bathroom floor, and she hoped to God it wasn't someone from the party.

Lorelai finished up and exited the stall, and cringed when she saw Emily waiting for her, arms folded haughtily across her chest.

Lorelai swallowed nervously as she walked over to the sink. "Oh, hi, Mom. Fancy seeing you here."

"I can't believe you, Lorelai," Emily said, shaking her head.

"What?" Lorelai replied nonchalantly before she started washing her hands.

"You _know_ what," Emily snapped, speaking loudly over the running water. "Are you pregnant again?"

Lorelai calmly reached for a hand towel and dried her hands, then dropped it into the linen basket. She turned to face Emily and admitted, "Yes, I am."

Emily shook her head in disbelief. "Let's put aside the fact that your son is still practically an infant so the timing of this isn't something to be desired by any means, and let's focus on the fact that you failed to mention this life-changing news to your own parents."

"I failed to mention the news to _anyone_ , Mom," Lorelai clarified. "It's still very early - our first doctor's appointment is this week, and we were going to tell you and Dad after that. Luke and I have only told Rory, Sookie, and Jess."

"And the wonderful Mia, it seems," Emily added, unable to hide the bitterness in her tone. "The woman my own daughter _wishes_ was her real mother gets all the news before her actual mother."

"No, we did _not_ tell her about the baby," Lorelai replied adamantly. "She knows because Sookie accidentally mentioned it to her this afternoon, but we weren't planning to tell her for a few months... it was a total accident."

"Which part - telling her, or the baby?" Emily retorted.

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "The baby was _not_ an accident, Mother. Luke and I both wanted another one and we made a conscious effort to create one, so yes, this was a planned pregnancy and we are both very happy about it."

"Well, it just seems ridiculous having kids so close together," Emily told her. "You're purposely making things more difficult for yourself."

"Just because something happens to someone that you wouldn't have wanted to happen to you doesn't make it ridiculous," Lorelai told her. "Yes, we are aware that these kids will be very close in age and that we're going to have our hands full, but it's what we _want_ , Mom. And since you clearly recognize that it could in fact be a difficult situation at times, don't you think your support could be more appropriate here instead of criticism?"

Emily sighed. "I just don't understand why you -"

"Mom," Lorelai interrupted her, and then exhaled a deep breath. "I'm not going to argue with you in a women's bathroom in the middle of my son's first birthday party. I don't have the energy for it. If you haven't heard - and you will soon because it's the talk of the party out there - I just fainted outside because it's hot and I'm dehydrated and parties can be stressful, and this discussion really isn't helping."

Emily's eyes widened and her demeanor softened ever so slightly. "You fainted? My goodness. Are you all right? Shouldn't you call a doctor?"

"I'm fine, I drank some water, I cooled off in the air conditioning, I'm going to take it easy the rest of the day," Lorelai said. "So, if you wanna continue to berate me, an adult woman, for choosing to have another child with my husband, then can we carve out some time another day? Because I'd really like to just get back to the party."

Emily huffed out a breath and pursed her lips. "Fine."

Emily walked over to the door and was about to open it when Lorelai softly added, "Mom, I have never wished that Mia was my mother. She helped me when I was a confused teenager, and she's been a supportive boss and friend since then. She didn't replace anyone in my life, and she never will."

Emily had paused at the door, her hand on the handle, and she was completely still for a moment. She didn't realize how much she needed to hear that from her daughter until the words were actually said. She glanced back over her shoulder at Lorelai and gave her a little nod before exiting the bathroom.

Lorelai exhaled a sigh and leaned her palms against the counter as she looked into the mirror over the sink. "Who wants a regular old boring party where everything goes smoothly?" she asked her reflection. "That's so overrated."

She took a deep breath and walked out of the bathroom, and was surprised to find Luke waiting for her outside the door. "Oh, hey," she greeted him.

"Hey. You were taking a little long, so I was starting to worry," Luke said. "Just wanted to make sure you were okay."

Lorelai's lips curved into a smile. It was yet another reminder that no matter what happened, no matter what drama life brought, she had someone standing beside her making sure she was okay.

She took a step closer to him and wrapped her arms around him in a hug.

He hugged her, and when she didn't release him right away, he hugged her tighter and rubbed her back. "You okay?" he asked.

"I'm okay," she whispered, and kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks for checking on me."

. . . . .

. . . . .

They sang to Josh and cut the cake, and sat down at a table to enjoy dessert and to repeatedly answer inquiries from guests about the fainting episode. When they were done eating, Lorelai suggested that Luke accept Kirk's cornhole challenge.

"Nah, I don't think so," Luke said with a shrug.

"Why not? Take a 15 minute break from doting on Josh and worrying about me, and go have some fun. You like cornhole, you're good at it."

"But - "

"And I promise that I will sit on the sidelines and watch you play," Lorelai continued. "For two reasons - one, so you can keep an eye on me like I know you want to, just to make sure I'm not off fainting somewhere. And two..." She leaned in close to his ear and whispered, "You get extra sexy when you're in competitive mode, and I wanna see it."

Luke smirked. "Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah. Plus, I want you to win us some free car washes."

Luke smirked, and then he reluctantly agreed, "Okay, fine. A quick match."

Lorelai clapped her hands excitedly. "Yay. Thank you."

Ten minutes later, Kirk and Luke were squaring off in a one-on-one match, and a crowd had gathered to watch them play. Lorelai was sitting on the grass watching with Josh, but when he kept trying to crawl away, Rory and Mark volunteered to follow after him as he explored the grounds.

Kirk's attempts to smack talk Luke only made Luke more determined to win, and he kept racking up the points. Once Luke claimed victory, Kirk sulked off and went to indulge in more desserts. As another match was starting up with some new players, Emily and Richard came over to say goodbye.

Lorelai and Luke walked them to the front of the inn, and while they were waiting for the valet to bring the car around, Emily gave a stern nod from Lorelai's face to her stomach to Richard.

Lorelai quickly picked up on the request, and then quietly whispered something into Luke's ear. He nodded in agreement, and she cleared her throat. "Um, Mom, Dad," Lorelai started, and they both looked at her.

"Yes, Lorelai?" Emily replied.

Lorelai linked her arm through Luke's. "I just wanted you to know that I have a doctor's appointment on Monday because Luke and I recently found out that..." She put her hand on her stomach. "... well, we're expecting."

Richard's eyes widened and he let out a small surprised laugh. "Goodness! Already?" Lorelai could tell he was shocked, but his eyes conveyed that it was a pleasant surprise.

"Yup, we're expanding the brood already," Lorelai replied.

"Well, that is certainly a surprise," Emily said, pretending the information was new to her.

"It is indeed," Richard said, smiling, and he extended a hand toward Luke. "I guess congratulations are in order."

Luke shook his hand. "Thank you."

"Thanks, Dad," Lorelai replied, and then looked at Emily.

"Yes, congratulations, that's lovely news," Emily added. She sounded sincere, but Lorelai honestly couldn't tell if it was genuine or not.

"You must be excited," Richard said.

"We are," Lorelai confirmed. "We're very excited."

"Well, you'll have to let us know how the appointment goes," Richard said, clasping his hands together.

"Yes, keep up posted," Emily said.

"We will," Lorelai said.

"Now, remember, we're heading down to the Cape this weekend," Richard reminded them.

"And you're still planning to come down the following weekend, right?" Emily asked hopefully. "You'll feel well enough?"

"Yes, I'm sure it'll be fine," Lorelai replied, and then asked, "And we're still all set to stay at your house for a few days when we get back from Cape Cod, right? You know, while our house is being painted?"

"Yes, of course," Emily replied. "We certainly can't have you staying in a paint-fumed house while you're pregnant."

"Okay, great, thanks," Lorelai replied.

"That'll be a big help, really," Luke added.

The valet pulled up with the car, and Emily and Richard said goodbye. Luke and Lorelai watched them pull off, and then looked at each other.

"Well, much like the ending of _The Usual Suspects_ , this day is not going as I'd expected it to go," Lorelai said. "But that's life, right?"

"Yup. That's life." He put his hands on her waist and his voice softened. "You know, you were out for... what, only 10 seconds? Practically nothing, but it felt like hours." He shook his head slightly. "My heart was pounding, I think I stopped breathing that entire time. I was freaking out, Lorelai... just looking at you on the ground waiting for your eyes to open, I was about to lose it."

Lorelai frowned and squeezed his forearms. "Sorry I worried you."

Luke shook his head. "Not your fault, don't apologize. But man, things like that remind me that one of my biggest fears in this world is..." He paused a moment because he almost didn't want to say it out loud. Finally, he breathed out and softly finished with, "...losing you."

Lorelai cocked her head to the side and smiled at him adoringly. "That is a depressingly sweet sentiment, hon... thank you."

He smiled and pulled her into a hug. "I love you."

"I love you, too." She kissed him, and as they separated, she reached for his hand. "Okay... let's go wrap up this party."

. . . . .

. . . . .

After the party, they carted the presents home, and Rory and Mark unloaded them while Luke and Lorelai tended to a crying Josh. They calmed him down, and as Lorelai was holding him, she sniffed his hair and wrinkled her nose. "He smells like a kid who's been outside sweating for hours."

"He _is_ a kid that's been outside sweating for hours," Luke reminded her. "We've _all_ been outside sweating for hours."

Lorelai sniffed her arm and made a face. "Ugh, you're right. We smell gross." She nodded toward the bathroom. "Can you start a bath for him? I don't want him to go to bed smelling like this."

"Yup," Luke replied, and he headed to the bathroom.

Rory and Mark brought the last of the gifts in from the car. "This is all of them," Rory said.

"Thanks for doing that, guys," Lorelai replied.

"You're welcome," Mark replied. "Is there anything else you need help with before I head back to the inn?"

Lorelai looked confused. "You're leaving already? It's still early. You can hang out here for a little while if you want."

"We're actually gonna go to a movie at 8," Rory told her. "But we both wanted to freshen up first."

"Oh, okay," Lorelai replied, and then said to Mark, "Thanks for your help. Will we see you tomorrow before you head back home?"

Mark glanced at Rory for the answer. "Uh, yeah, I think so, right? I don't know what's on the agenda for tomorrow yet."

"I was thinking a tour of the town, and maybe lunch at the diner," Rory said. "Time to introduce you to the wonder that is a Luke's burger."

"Finally," Mark said. "I hear it has quite the fan base."

Lorelai smiled. "It does. Well, if you wanna come by in the morning, we can have breakfast and hang out a little. We can throw _Willy Wonka_ on the TV for some classic upbeat songs about spoiled, selfish kids. What better way to round out Josh's birthday weekend?"

"Only if we cover his eyes during the boat scene," Rory said. "I'd like to prevent him from having the same nightmares I did after being exposed to it way too young."

Lorelai smiled. "Okay, fine. What do you say?"

"Sure," Rory replied.

"Yeah, that sounds good to me," Mark replied with a nod. "Thanks."

Luke walked out of the bathroom, and Lorelai filled him in on the plan before they said goodbye to Mark.

Once he'd left, Rory started heading toward her bedroom, calling over her shoulder, "Let me know when he's done in there. I wanna jump in the shower before I go... I smell like sweat."

Lorelai smirked. "Yeah, we noticed we all do." Realizing this was a chance to finally talk to Rory alone, Lorelai handed Josh over to Luke. "Can you take care of bath time? I desperately need to eat something."

"Yeah, sure," Luke replied, eyeing her curiously. "You okay?"

"I feel fine, just hungry," she assured him. "And he doesn't need a long bath, just enough to get the smell off him."

"Got it," Luke replied.

Luke headed into the bathroom with the baby, and Lorelai walked to the kitchen. She grabbed a bowl of grapes from the fridge, then headed into Rory's bedroom and shut the door.

"You have time for a quick chat while Luke is busy?" Lorelai asked.

"Sure." Rory had been looking in her closet for something to wear, and she walked over to Lorelai.

They sat down on the bed facing each other, the grapes between them, and both picked at them for a moment.

Finally, Lorelai patted Rory's knee and said, "Sooo... talk to me. You had a new life experience, a big one, how do you feel?"

"I feel good," Rory replied with a nod.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Everything was fine," Rory replied. "We took it slow... he was patient and really sweet. I felt comfortable with him, you know? He makes me feel comfortable."

"Good, good." Lorelai hesitated a moment before asking, "So... was it planned? Did you know this weekend would be _the_ weekend?"

Rory shrugged a little. "It wasn't planned, exactly, but it was something that was hypothetically referred to beforehand," she said. "We were talking on the phone a few days ago about his visit. I made a comment about how I hoped he wouldn't be too lonely in his room at the inn, and he asked if I would visit and keep him company. I said maybe, and we were kind of flirting back and forth, and it kind of became this possibility in both of our minds that things might go further."

"But you didn't decide on the phone that it was definitely happening," Lorelai deduced.

"Not really."

"So, if you had told me that you were kind of talking about it, I would have spent the entire week wondering about something that might not have even occurred."

"Yes, exactly," Rory replied. "And you had three days in a row of Josh's birthday stuff, so it didn't seem like something I should bring up and add to your stress."

"I get it." Lorelai popped a few grapes into her mouth, and then asked, "So, stupid question, I know, but I need to hear the answer... you were safe, right?"

"Of course," Rory replied with a nod.

"I know you've been covered for a few months, but that doesn't protect against everything," Lorelai added. "So, always, always, always be extra safe, okay? I can't tell you that enough."

"We will," Rory assured her. "I promise."

Lorelai smoothed her hand over the blanket on Rory's bed. "Okay, so, good, you were safe. And then afterwards, everything was good? He was cool, you were cool, everything was cool?"

"Yeah, we were fine. I stayed for a little while, we talked. We watched a little TV, that wasn't a lie this morning," Rory said. "And then he walked me out to the car."

Lorelai gave an impressed nod. "Wow, most guys would've said goodbye at the door to the room. Nice touch by Mr. Mark putting in the extra effort."

Rory smiled. "I thought so."

"And everything was good today? The way you talked, the way you got along?" Lorelai wrinkled her nose as she added, "He didn't seem different at all?"

Rory shook her head in response. "No. You saw him, he was totally the same."

"He seemed to be," Lorelai agreed. "But in terms of the one-on-one stuff between you and him today, that was the same?"

Rory thought it over for a few seconds. "Yeah. We chatted and joked with each other like we normally do. He'd hold my hand when we were walking somewhere together. He kept asking if I needed a drink or more food, things like that. He was sweet." Rory thought a little more, and then a small smile appeared on her lips. "Everything felt a little more intimate. Like when we were holding hands, or hugging, or whatever... like we were closer, you know?"

Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Yeah. I know that feeling. That's a good feeling."

"Yeah, it is." Rory picked up a grape and bit into it, looked at the center of it, and then ate the rest of it. She reached for another grape, delicately pulling it from its vine.

Lorelai watched her for a moment, noticing she looked pensive. "What's on your mind?"

Rory shrugged. "It's just weird that a few years ago, I thought Dean would be my first, and it ended up being someone else completely different."

Lorelai nodded understandingly. "Life can be funny that way."

"It's also weird that I was with Dean for so long and _wasn't_ ready, and have only been with Mark for a few months and felt very ready."

"You guys obviously have a deeper connection," Lorelai said, and then waited a beat before adding, "That, or you're just getting looser as you get older."

Rory gasped and then laughed. "Mom!"

"Kidding, kidding," Lorelai said, smiling as she rubbed Rory's knee.

Rory looked toward the door, and then back at Lorelai. "Did you tell Luke anything?"

Lorelai shook her head. "No, I didn't."

"Are you going to?" Rory asked.

"Well, I'm not going to voluntarily offer up the information that his stepdaughter is officially open for business..."

"Appreciate that," Rory interjected.

"But if for some reason - and I know this is gonna sound creepy - it comes up in conversation..."

Rory made a face. "Why would it?!" she exclaimed.

"I don't know!" Lorelai exclaimed back, throwing up her arms in a shrug. "He might ask if you guys are serious or if I think you've taken things to the next level, et cetera et cetera, something like that," she explained. "So, if it _does_ come up that way, I'm not gonna lie to him, but I'll be as vague as possible, okay?"

"Okay. The vaguest of vague would be appreciated."

"You got it." Lorelai heard the bathroom door open down the hall. "Oh, sounds like bath time is finished." She looked at Rory and said, "So... listen, I'll leave it up to you to decide how much of this new aspect of your life you wanna share with me, but I _am_ here if you have any questions or need advice or just want to talk, okay?"

"I know you are."

"No matter what else I have going on with work or Josh or Luke or little baby to come," she said, patting her stomach. "I'm still always here for you 24 hours a day." She shrugged and nonchalantly added, "Even if you _are_ now a mature responsible adult and don't need me as much as you used to."

Rory smiled. "I'm always gonna need you, Mom."

"Good." Lorelai leaned forward and hugged her. "I love you, kid."

"Love you, Mom," Rory replied.

Lorelai climbed off the bed. "Okay, I gotta go help Luke put the boy to bed."

"Okay." Rory glanced at the clock. "I'm gonna jump in the shower. I have to leave soon."

Lorelai picked up the grapes and started to walk out the door, then turned around to look at Rory. "I'm not going to ask you what exactly your plans are _after_ the movie, but just let us know if you're gonna be out _really_ late, okay? I know you're an adult, but we still worry."

Rory nodded. "Okay. I'll text you when I know how late I might be."

Lorelai smiled. "Thank you." She blew Rory a kiss before walking out of the room.

. . . . .

. . . . .

The next day, Rory and Mark hung out at the house for a little while before heading out to explore the town. Shortly after they left, Lorelai went to meet with Mia while Luke stayed home with Josh.

Lorelai had suggested a coffee shop in Woodbury so they could talk freely without worrying about other people overhearing their discussion. She wasn't ready for the town to know she was expecting yet.

Lorelai walked into the coffee shop and found Mia sitting at a table, and Mia stood up to greet her with a hug. "Sit, sit," Mia said, gesturing to the chair across from her.

They both sat down, and a waiter came over to the table. They ordered coffee, and then Mia suggested they get slices of cake to celebrate the exciting news.

The waiter left, and Lorelai nervously looked at Mia like a child waiting for a parent to scold her. "Okay, let me have it," Lorelai said, grimacing slightly. "Yell at me, call me ungrateful, tell me how much you hate me."

Mia cocked her head to the side. "For which part, dear? For you expanding your beautiful family, or for you deciding to start making strides toward your dream of your own inn?"

"Both."

Mia smiled. "I'm not mad at you. I'm happy for you, I'm proud of you."

"I'm really sorry I didn't get the chance to tell you myself," Lorelai reiterated.

"Hey, it's not your fault your husband and best friend have big mouths," Mia pointed out, smiling.

Lorelai smiled. "Very true."

"So, let's talk about this baby, huh? When are you due?"

"February," Lorelai replied. "Exact date to be determined, but I have my first doctor's appointment tomorrow."

"And you - "

"And it was not an accident," Lorelai added, sitting up straight in her chair somewhat defensively. "I know people are gonna think it was because Josh is only 1, but no, it was planned. We wanted another kid, so we voluntarily stopped all the processes in place that were preventing another kid so that we could, in fact, create another kid. Which we did, as we'd planned to."

Mia's eyes widened a bit. "Okay, that's good. But I was just gonna ask... you haven't told anyone yet?"

Lorelai settled down and relaxed in her chair. "Oh. Sorry."

"Someone's in defensive mode, huh?" Mia asked.

"I'm just prepared to constantly hear about how close in age they are," Lorelai replied. "But to answer your question - no, only Rory, Sookie, Jackson, Jess, and my parents know, besides you."

"Well, I'm very excited for you," Mia told her.

Lorelai smiled. "Thanks, so are we. We know it's gonna be a lot of work, but we're prepared for that."

"Oh, I don't doubt you talked about it before you voluntarily stopped the processes in place that were preventing a kid," Mia teasingly said.

Lorelai's smile widened, and she nodded. "You're mocking, but yes, as a matter of fact, we did."

The waiter brought their drinks and cake, and they took a few moments to each take a bite.

Mia wiped her face with her napkin, and then rested it back in her lap. "So, tell me about this special grandmother inn fund? Luke tried to fill me in, but the poor guy was so nervous about having spilled the secret, he was talking in circles and wasn't really making much sense."

Lorelai smiled and took a sip of her coffee to wash down her cake. As she set the mug down, she said, "By the way, if Luke asks, this is decaf."

Mia smiled. "He knows you better than that."

"True." Lorelai exhaled a small breath and then explained to Mia the terms of the money Trix had put aside for her inn. She finished with, "So, I don't technically have to _open_ an inn by the three year mark, but I'd be an idiot not to try to get something going and use that money while I have access to it. And if I'm gonna get it started, I might as well jump right in with full force, right?"

"Yeah, it's something you should take advantage of," Mia agreed. "I definitely would. And that seems like that's what your grandmother wanted, to help motivate you to jump in."

"Yeah, I think so." Lorelai ate another bite of cake, and then asked, "So, where's your head at with this news?" She gritted her teeth. "You're gonna sell the place, right? That's what you said a few years ago when I mentioned us opening our own inn."

With an apologetic look, Mia nodded. "Yes, that would be the plan... I won't lie to you about that. And I know it'll be just as hard for you as it'll be for me."

Lorelai frowned and nodded. "Yeah, it will. But I get it."

"But look, I don't want you to think about that yet," Mia said. "I'm not gonna go out and sell the inn tomorrow. I'll give you time to get settled with the new baby without ripping your income out from under you. You just let me know when you and Sookie decide what your timeline is gonna be for the new inn, and we'll figure things out."

Lorelai seemed surprised by that. "Really? You'd be willing to wait it out and work with _our_ timeline?"

Mia smiled and reached across the table to pat Lorelai's hand. "Lorelai, you're the reason that inn has been running so successfully for years," she told her. "I've waited this long to sell, another year or two isn't a big deal. As long as you keep it running as smoothly as you've been doing, and keep that budget in check, I don't have an issue waiting."

Lorelai smiled. "You got it." She exhaled a deep sigh of relief, and put her hand on her chest. "And thank you, seriously. I feel like a weight has been lifted."

"You're welcome." Mia took a sip of her coffee, and then asked, "So, just to make sure, you don't have any interest in buying the Independence Inn yourself, right? Because I'd give you and Sookie a much better deal than I'm planning to give those cigar-chompin' businessmen who keep knocking on my door."

Lorelai sucked in a deep breath as she thought about it, and then slowly exhaled. "Wow. That's so tempting."

"But..." Mia prompted her.

"But we've always had this plan to start from the beginning, you know? To start with a blank slate and build up something with our own design and put our own style into it," Lorelai said. "That's part of the dream, to start at the ground floor and challenge ourselves to make a name for ourselves."

Mia smiled and nodded understandingly. "Then that's what you should do," she told her. "And you two will do it spectacularly."

Lorelai grinned. "Thank you. We've learned from the best."

"Do you have a place in mind?"

"We have our eye on the old Dragonfly Inn, but Fran didn't seem too interested in selling it the last time we checked," Lorelai said, and then shook her head confusedly. "But it's just been sitting there abandoned for years, why wouldn't she want someone to put some love into it?"

"I don't know, dear."

"If she doesn't agree to sell it, then I guess we're gonna have to look for property in other towns," Lorelai said with a shrug. "Not ideal, but we'll make it work."

"Keep working on her, show her what your vision for the place is... she may come around eventually."

"We'll try," Lorelai replied, and she finished up her last few bites of cake. She sipped some coffee, and as she set it down, noticed Mia was watching her and smiling. "What?"

"You look happy," Mia observed. "Not just a regular happy, but that annoying 'completely in love and satisfied with where my life is right now and where it's going' type of happy that drives other people crazy."

Lorelai laughed. "I'm sorry, I'll try harder not to flaunt my happiness."

Mia smiled. "No, flaunt it... I like seeing you like this." She reached over and rubbed Lorelai's arm." I've seen you at many different stages of your life, Lorelai, and in many different moods... but this one... this one might be my favorite."

Lorelai grinned. "Yeah... it might be my favorite, too."

. . . . .

. . . . .

Two weekends later, Lorelai, Luke, Josh and Rory went to visit Emily and Richard in Cape Cod. They arrived mid-morning on Saturday, and after a tour of the first floor, they headed upstairs to the second floor. Emily showed Rory to her room, and then showed Luke and Lorelai to the larger guest room where a crib had been set up next to their bed.

They settled in and got ready to go to the beach. Lorelai changed Josh into his bathing suit and matching swim shirt, and then she and Luke slathered him up with sunscreen. The entire family headed to the beach, where Emily and Richard had already arranged for chairs and umbrellas to be set up for them.

Luke spread out a large blanket and dumped out the bag of sand toys they'd brought for Josh. Rory turned on the video camera, as instructed by Lorelai, to record Josh's first introduction to the beach.

"Are we ready?" Lorelai asked Rory.

"Yup." Rory had the camera aimed at them, and she pushed a button to start recording. "We're rolling."

"Okay, here we are," Lorelai announced to the camera as she held Josh in her arms. "Josh's first time at the beach... Cape Cod, August 2004. Let's see how he likes it."

She slowly lowered him down until his feet touched the sand. He dug his toes into it, and when he felt steady, Lorelai let go of him so he was standing on his own. "What do you think of that Cape Cod sand, Joshy?"

"He's thinking it feels exactly like the sand in the Stars Hollow Park sand box," Luke muttered.

"Shh," Lorelai hushed him, and then squatted down next to Josh and ran her hand in the sand. "Look... you're surrounded by a giant sand box."

Josh leaned down to run both of his hands through the sand, and then picked some up and let it fall through his fingers back to the ground. He smiled excitedly at Lorelai and did it again.

Lorelai grinned. "You like that, huh? Is that fun?"

They watched him play with the sand for a minute, and then took him down to see the water, with Rory still manning the camera. Luke stood behind Josh and held both of his hands as they waited for the tide to come up. When it did, Josh jumped a little at the coldness of the water and started whimpering, and Luke immediately lifted him up into his arms.

"It's okay, buddy," Luke told him, rubbing his back. "You're fine."

As Josh pointed at the water and made a face, Lorelai squeezed Josh's feet. "Was that too cold? Did it scare you?"

"Come on, let's try it again," Luke said, and he walked him closer to the water. He dipped Josh quickly down into the water and then pulled him back up. Luke did it a few more times, and each time Josh giggled when he was pulled back up into Luke's arms.

They filled his bucket with water and carried it back to their seating area. Lorelai and Luke sat with him as he started playing with the sand and splashing his hands in his bucket. After putting the camera away, Rory sat down next to Richard, and soon they were both reading books. Beneath her sunglasses, Emily had her eyes closed and was listening to the sounds of Josh playing and the relaxing background noise of the ocean.

After awhile, Luke stood up to stretch his legs, and Lorelai suggested the two of them go for a walk. Rory put her book away and moved down to the beach blanket to play with Josh, and Lorelai and Luke headed off.

Lorelai laced her fingers through Luke's as they walked along the water's edge. "This is nice, right?" she said, sounding surprised. "Like, _weirdly_ nice?"

"Yeah."

"My parents are so relaxed out here, it's kind of strange."

"Yeah," Luke agreed. "I just keep waiting for your mom to say something like, 'are you sure you want him dumping sand on his legs like that'?"

"Yes! Or, 'Lorelai, should a pregnant woman really be wearing a bikini?'" Lorelai asked, mimicking Emily's tone of voice.

Luke smirked and squeezed her hand. "If she asks _that_ , I'm answering yes... because you look _good_." He gave her a wink and a nod of approval as he added, "Damn good."

Lorelai smiled. "Thank you, kind sir." She glanced down at her stomach. "I have to show off my hotness as long as I can because it's gonna go away soon... I'm already starting to show."

"A little bit," Luke replied, eyeing her midsection. "But you're still hot when you're pregnant."

"Nuh huh," Lorelai replied, shaking her head. "I'm going to be all fat and gross and you're gonna hate me and - "

She abruptly went silent when Luke stopped walking and pulled her closer by her hand. They stood face to face, and he put his hands on her waist. "I know you're exaggerating for dramatic effect and you know you are not _actually_ going to be fat and gross and that I'm not _actually_ going to hate you, but I still feel the need to correct you."

"Oh, yeah?" Lorelai replied as she casually wrapped her arms around his neck. "You disagree with my declaration?"

"Yes." He leaned in and kissed her gently. "You're beautiful and sexy, and will be for this entire pregnancy, and I will constantly remind you of that."

Lorelai smiled and kissed him again. As she pulled back, she said, "Thank you. But you _are_ going to hate me when I hit that point in the pregnancy where I feel super uncomfortable all the time and you realize that you're not gonna be getting any for awhile, right?"

Luke smirked and shook his head. "No, I'm not." He squeezed her waist. "Contrary to popular belief, I still love you even when you're not regularly putting out."

Lorelai feigned a surprised gasp at his statement. "Wow, listen to that mouth on you, Luke Danes!" She smiled and kissed him. "You get more and more like me every day."

Luke rolled his eyes. "I know. I gave up trying to fight it."

Lorelai grinned as she took his hand and led him along the beach. "Are you excited about our upcoming Hartford vacation?"

They'd be staying at Emily and Richard's house for a few days while the painters worked at their house. Luke and Lorelai had both taken Monday and Tuesday off. On Monday, they decided they'd stay in and relax and enjoy the pool. On Tuesday, they would go furniture shopping. On Wednesday, Lorelai would go to the inn in the morning for work, and then meet Luke and Josh back at their house in the afternoon so Luke could go to the diner.

"I'm excited about relaxing on Monday," Luke replied. "Not so much about shopping on Tuesday."

Lorelai smiled. "Come on, it'll be fun picking out new bedroom furniture."

"You know, I told you, I don't mind staying at the house with him while you go do it alone," Luke reminded her.

"I don't want to pick out something you don't like," Lorelai said. "It's your room, too."

"I'm gonna be fine with whatever you pick out, it doesn't matter to me."

"Luke, listen," she said, squeezing his hand. "The old bedroom was all my stuff - my paint color, my furniture, my crap all over the place. I want this new bedroom to be _ours._ It's brand new, and we're gonna have new memories in it and grow old together in it, and I want it to feel like we designed it together, okay?"

Luke nodded understandingly. "Okay, yeah. We'll pick it out together."

They walked a little further down the beach before she said, "You know, while we're out shopping, we should keep an eye out for sales on things for the baby's room. I know we still have a few months, but we'll need a lot of stuff."

"What do you mean a lot of stuff? We just need a crib and a dresser," Luke said.

"We can't just stick a crib and a dresser in a room and call it a day," she told him. "We need more than that in there."

"Well, we can move the rocking chair in from Josh's room," Luke suggested.

"We each might be rocking a kid at the same time," Lorelai pointed out. "He still likes to be rocked."

Luke rubbed his forehead and exhaled a sigh. "So, we need a _second_ rocking chair?"

"We'll look for one on sale," she said. "Or maybe we can find a used one."

"What else do we need?"

"Well, we're going to have toys and books in there, so we need storage for the toys and books. Plus, we need lighting and décor and ambiance."

Luke rolled his eyes. "Right, _ambiance_. Babies love ambiance."

"No, _I_ love ambiance," Lorelai corrected him. "Bad ambiance gives a negative vibe and will make the nursery an unhappy place. But if the nursery vibe is pleasing and relaxing, it makes the baby happy and that makes _me_ happy, and don't you want the woman who carried your child for 9 months and then had it ripped from her body to be happy?"

Luke glanced over at her with a raised eyebrow. "Well, what am I supposed to say when you put it like that?"

Lorelai grinned. "I knew you'd come around." She reached up and pinched his cheek.

Luke playfully swatted her hand away, laughing. "Yeah, yeah, you win that one," he said. "But there's something else we need to talk about that might _not_ make the woman who carried my child for 9 months happy."

Lorelai looked at him with intrigue. "What?"

"Well, I think it's time we talk about maybe..." He inhaled sharply through his teeth before hesitantly finishing with, "... trading in your Jeep."

Lorelai's eyes widened. "Luke!"

"Come on, Lorelai," Luke said. "It's time. You know it's not practical for us anymore."

"It still runs fine!"

"But it's not _practical_ ," Luke repeated. "We can barely fit the car seat in the back, and when we do, it's near impossible to get Josh in and out of it. That's why we usually take _my_ car everywhere."

"So, we can still do that," Lorelai pointed out. "Yours will be the baby car. We'll get you a little yellow sign that says 'Babies on Board.' It'll be adorable."

Luke cocked his head to the side. "That's not gonna work... we might each have to take a kid somewhere separately, or my car might need to go in the shop or something. We're gonna have two small kids to tote around everywhere. Shouldn't we have two cars that can comfortably fit those two kids and all of their junk without a ten minute struggle to actually get each kid in the car?"

Lorelai shrugged. "I guess, sure, some people would agree with that, but do we wanna be like them? Don't we wanna be unique?"

Luke exhaled a sigh and shook his head amusedly. "All right, we don't have to decide this today... we have a few months for you to go through the five stages of grief for this topic before we need to take action."

"Well, just so you know, I'll probably spend an exorbitant amount of time in the denial phase."

"I figured," Luke replied. "But seriously, though, it's something you need to think about, okay?"

Lorelai nodded. "Yes, I promise that I will one day think about this topic that makes the woman who carried your children - _children_ , plural, mind you - for 9 months very unhappy."

Luke smirked. "Thank you."

. . . . .

. . . . .

After a few more minutes of walking, they turned around and headed back to the rest of the family. Rory was sitting with Josh on the sand. She was digging a hole with a small shovel, and Josh was amusing himself by pushing sand back into it.

"Oh, good, you're back," Emily greeted them.

"Is everything okay?" Lorelai asked as she sat down on the blanket. "Was he being a handful?"

"Oh, no, everything's fine," Emily replied.

Luke handed Lorelai a bottle of water from the cooler. "Here, hydrate."

"Thanks." Lorelai opened up the bottle and took a long sip of water. "So, what'd we miss here?"

"Well, your father and I were just discussing something," Emily said, glancing at Richard, who nodded.

"Yes?" Lorelai prompted her.

"We decided that we don't want you to feel uncomfortable staying alone at our house this week, so we thought it might be easier if we joined you," Emily said.

Lorelai's eyes widened and she glanced at Luke before looking back at Emily. "Uh, what do you mean, Mom?"

"I mean, we'll leave the Cape with you tomorrow night and head back to Hartford for a few days to keep you company while you're there," Emily said.

"And then we'll head back here when you leave," Richard added.

Lorelai's eyes widened further and she stammered, "Oh, that's - you don't - I mean, that's totally not necessary."

"Yeah, we'll be fine," Luke added.

"We don't mind," Emily said.

"But why interrupt your vacation?" Lorelai asked. "You and Dad should stay here and relax, and we'll just have a quiet few days at the house, nothing to worry about. I promise we'll watch Josh like a hawk, he won't break anything or touch anything, if that's what you're worried about."

Luke nodded in agreement. "He will not be touching anything he shouldn't be touching."

"Hell, we might not even let him out of his room, that's how careful we'll be, so you don't have to worry," Lorelai added.

"Yup, we'll lock him up if we have to," Luke said, and then he glanced at Lorelai before adding, "And I'll make sure she doesn't touch anything either."

Lorelai frowned at him. "Hey."

"Sorry, I'm just not sure if they're more concerned about Josh or you," Luke muttered.

Lorelai looked back at her parents. "And I promise we're not gonna have a party or invite people over or anything," she said. "It'll just be the four of us there, and Rory will be at the paper most of that time. And Luke and I are just going to relax at the house with Josh on Monday, and then Tuesday we're going out shopping, so we won't even be there most of the day, and then we'll be out of there on Wednesday, so it seems like a waste for you to make the trip there and back." Lorelai had been speaking quickly, and she paused to catch her breath, and then added, "See, we'll be fine. Nothing to worry about."

Emily cocked her head with uncertainty, and then glanced over at Richard. "What do you think, Richard?"

"Well..." Richard said, and he glanced at Rory. "I think you were right. That _was_ fun."

Rory grinned. "I told you."

Lorelai and Luke shared a look of confusion, and then Lorelai asked Emily, "Wait, that was a joke? You were just joking about coming back with us?"

Emily smiled and leaned back in her chair. "Yes."

"I may have suggested it would be a fun prank," Rory said with a devilish smile. "Just to see your reaction."

"And boy, was it," Richard added with a hearty laugh.

Lorelai shook her head in disbelief. "Wow. Walk away for twenty minutes and you all get in cahoots against me."

"Trust me, Lorelai, we're well aware you would rather be alone at the house without us around to get in your way," Emily said. "So, you go right ahead and treat that as _your_ vacation, and we'll stay here and enjoy ours."

"Thank you," Lorelai replied, and then she leaned in closer to Josh. " _You_ still love Mommy, right? Because apparently your sister doesn't... she likes to see pregnant women suffer."

"Aw, come on," Rory said apologetically. "It was just a joke, no harm done."

Lorelai waved it off. "I know, I forgive you." She pointed at her, adding, "But I never forget."

"Oh, I know you don't," Rory said.

"So, your official due date is February the 20th, right?" Emily asked.

"That's right," Lorelai replied, and she patted her stomach. "My little winter baby to go with my autumn and summer babies."

"It could be a Valentine's Day baby," Rory pointed out.

"Yeah, it could be. I wonder what the ratio is of babies conceived on Valentine's Day versus babies born on it," Lorelai mulled.

"We don't need to know," Emily said, quickly ending that discussion. "Will you be finding out the sex of the baby before it's born this time?"

Lorelai's eyes widened a little, surprised by the question. "Oh, wow, um... way to throw a curveball at us, Mom." She glanced up at Luke. "We haven't talked about that yet."

"No, we haven't," Luke said, and he sat down next to her on the blanket.

"Do you wanna find out this time?" Lorelai asked him.

Luke thought it over for a moment and then he shrugged. "Yeah, I think I wouldn't mind knowing ahead of time. What about you?"

"Yeah... me, too. I wouldn't mind knowing either," Lorelai said. "Plus, we'd know if we have to go buy a bunch of new baby clothes, or if we could just pass down most of Josh's old manly stuff."

"Well, if it could potentially save us some money _and_ shopping time, we should definitely find out," Luke declared.

Lorelai smiled. "Okay. I'm in if you're in."

"Let's do it," he said.

Lorelai turned to look at Emily. "Yes, I think we're gonna find out this time."

"Yes, I heard, Lorelai," Emily replied. "I'm sitting right here."

"That's exciting," Rory said. "When can you find out?"

"Um, let's see..." Lorelai thought for a moment, trying to remember how many weeks along she was. "I think in another 6 weeks or so."

"So, around the end of September," Rory said.

"Yup," Lorelai replied, and then she watched Josh try to stand up on the sand. "Oops, we got a runner. Let's see how far he can get."

They all watched as he took a few steps on the sand, and then stumbled and fell down.

"Not very far," Richard declared with a laugh.

"Good try, buddy," Luke said. "It's hard to walk on sand."

Emily stood up from her chair. "I'm going to head back to the house and make sure Rosalie is starting lunch."

"I'll go with you, Emily," Richard said, standing up.

"We'll head back in a few minutes," Lorelai said.

Richard and Emily left, and the others hung out on the beach for a little while longer before heading back to the house for lunch.

. . . . .

. . . . .

Over the next few weeks, the construction on the house finally wrapped up. Luke and Lorelai moved back upstairs into their new master bedroom suite, and Josh settled into his new larger nursery. The second nursery was still pretty bare, but they had a few months to get it ready.

They moved Rory back to Yale at the end of August and got her settled in to her new dorm room with Paris.

Lorelai continued to hide her pregnancy from the town, using loose clothing and strategically carried purses to try to hide her growing stomach. However, by early September, it was getting harder to hide.

They decided that instead of telling people, she would just stop hiding it and let them figure it out for themselves. On the Saturday before Labor Day, she threw on a dress, one that hugged her visible baby bump, and went out to run some errands in town. She made her way from the dry cleaner to the bank to the market, and tried to optimize the number of people who saw her. She went out of her way to say hello to people, to draw their attention her way, but no one noticed or brought up her expectant figure.

When she arrived home, Lorelai walked through the baby gate into the living room. Luke was tightening the loose doorknob on the side door, and Josh was playing with some toys on the floor in front of the coffee table.

"How'd it go?" Luke asked.

Lorelai sat down on the couch. "Well, nobody said anything, so I'm not really sure. I didn't see Patty or Babette, which would've made things much easier... they would've noticed, commented, and spread the word to the town in ten minutes flat."

"Well, a few more outings like that, and everyone will catch on." Luke walked over and sat down next to her on the couch. "If not, we can just come out and say it. I mean, we don't _have_ to wait for _them_ to notice."

Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "I can't just be like, 'hey Taylor, how much are the extra large marshmallows? By the way, I'm pregnant'," she said. "That's not as fun as someone picking up on it and watching that confused look in their eyes as they wonder if it's true, and then they hesitantly ask and I pretend that I'm not pregnant so they feel guilty for calling me fat, and then I tell them I'm just kidding, and we laugh and hug." She tapped the side of her head. "I have it all worked out in my head on how it's supposed to go."

Luke rolled his eyes. "Geez."

"I want to see how long it takes people to notice. That's one of the main characteristics of small town life, that everyone knows everything about each other. Well, this is a test to see how well they pay attention to us."

"I'd prefer that they didn't pay _any_ attention to us."

Josh finally noticed that Lorelai had returned home, and he stood up and toddled over to her. "Ma!" he declared, excitedly smacking her knee. "Ma!"

Lorelai smiled. "Hi, little man," she cooed as she picked him up and sat him on her lap. "Look at you, my little expert walker." She kissed his cheek. "I love you."

"He's getting faster," Luke said. "I left the gate open earlier when I went to get him a drink and he took off toward the kitchen like a racehorse."

Lorelai grinned. "He loves escaping, he gets so proud of himself." She glanced toward the entryway. "Oh, shoot, I got him more apple juice, but I left the bag from Doose's in the car."

Luke stood up from the couch. "I'll go get it."

"Thank you," Lorelai said.

As Luke walked past them, Josh reached for him and said, "Dada!"

Luke rubbed Josh's head. "Dada will be right back."

Luke headed outside, and Lorelai picked up one of Josh's books from the coffee table and started reading it to him. When the house phone rang, Lorelai ignored it and kept reading.

Luke walked back into the house and heard the phone ringing. "Should I get that?"

"The machine will get it." Lorelai resumed reading and Luke headed to the kitchen to unload the bag.

After a few more rings, the answering machine clicked on, and Rory's voice filled the living room. "Hey, Mom, it's me. I just got an alert from the Stars Hollow website that a new story was posted in the gossip column. It's um... well, I think it's about you. It doesn't mention any names, but it's titled 'Plump or Pregnant?' and it talks about a Stars Hollow female who was seen out in town today carrying some extra weight. It also says that she recently had a baby, so the debate is on whether she's reproducing again already or if her junk food habit is finally catching up to her." There was a brief pause. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's you. Call me back."

Lorelai had been staring at the answering machine from the couch and Luke had been listening from the entryway to the kitchen. Once Rory had hung up, they smiled at each other from across the hallway.

"Okay, I guess it did work," Lorelai said.

"I guess so. Someone out there was paying attention."

There was a knock on the side door, and Lorelai glanced at it. She saw Babette's face in the window, and then smiled at Luke. "Gee, I wonder what in the world Babette's doing here."

"It's a mystery," Luke said sarcastically as he walked toward the living room.

Lorelai waved Babette into the house. "Come in, Babette!" she called.

Babette quickly stepped into the house. "Hey, dolls."

Luke was standing on the other side of the baby gate. "Hey, Babette. You need to borrow something?"

"No," she replied as she walked over to the couch. "Just stopping by to say hello." As she sat down next to Lorelai, her eyes were focused on Lorelai's stomach, which was blocked by Josh on her lap. "Wanted to see how my favorite neighbors are doing."

"We're doing pretty good, Babette," Lorelai replied, and then she looked over at Luke. "You would say we're doing pretty good, right, hon?"

"Pretty great, actually," Luke replied.

Lorelai nodded in agreement. "Yeah, pretty great sounds about right." She turned back to Babette. "We're pretty great. How are you?"

"Oh, I'm good, doll, thanks," Babette replied, and then she reached toward Josh and squeezed his knee. "And how's this cutie doing?"

"Oh, he's great, too," Lorelai replied, and knowing that Babette couldn't wait for Lorelai to put Josh down, she added, "He's a pretty good walker now. You wanna see it?"

"I would _love_ to see it," Babette replied with wide eyes. "Put him down, let me see it!"

Lorelai smiled and set Josh on the floor. "Go see Daddy, honey. Where's Daddy?" Lorelai pointed toward Luke.

Luke reached his hands down over the baby gate. "Come here, buddy." Josh made eye contact with Luke and started heading toward him. "Good job, come here."

"Good job, Joshy," Lorelai said encouragingly, watching him walk away.

When Josh reached the gate, Luke picked him up and tickled his belly, making him giggle. "Good job."

"Pretty impressive, huh?" Lorelai asked, turning to look at Babette.

"Yeah, yeah, that was great," Babette distractedly replied while staring intently at Lorelai's stomach. "Are you pregnant or just gaining weight?" she bluntly asked.

Lorelai let out a laugh and checked the clock. "Wow, you lasted longer than I thought you would."

"Same here," Luke agreed. "Good job, Babette."

Babette eagerly looked back and forth between the two of them. "Well, which one is it?!"

"Yes, I _am_ pregnant," Lorelai told her.

Babette gasped. "Really?" She disappointedly slapped her knee. "Darn, I had my money on the gaining weight."

Lorelai smirked. "Sorry."

"Well, that's still exciting news, doll," Babette said, and she leaned in to hug Lorelai. "Congratulations, both of you."

"Thank you," Lorelai replied.

"Yeah, thanks," Luke echoed.

As she pulled back from Babette, Lorelai said, "Now, before you run off to make all your calls to pass the news along - make sure you tell everyone that it was _planned_ , it was not an accident. We want everyone to know that yes, this was a conscious choice to expand the family."

"Are you sure?" Babette asked, clearly unconvinced. "Because it seems awfully soon since the last kid."

"One hundred percent sure," Luke replied. "It was fully discussed beforehand."

"And you can also tell people it's due on February 20th," Lorelai added.

"Okay, got it," Babette said. "Pregnant, totally planned, due on February 20th." She stood up from the couch. "I better go before I forget. Congratulations again."

"Thanks," Lorelai replied. "And thanks for spreading the word."

"Bye, Babette," Luke said, and he said to Josh, "Can you wave bye... wave bye-bye."

Josh held out his hand and opened and closed his fist a few times.

"Good job," Lorelai said, smiling.

Babette waved back to him. "Bye, cutie." She walked over to the side door and let herself out.

Lorelai leaned back against the couch. "Well, mission accomplished," she said to Luke. "Now we just let the news spread like wildfire."

. . . . .

. . . . .

A few weeks later, Lorelai and Luke were in the examination room at Lorelai's doctor appointment. Dr. Palmer walked in, smiling. "Hello, you two," she greeted them.

"Hi, there," Lorelai said as Luke nodded hello.

Dr. Palmer glanced down at the chart in her hands. "I see the nurse took your weight and blood pressure. Both look good." She looked at Lorelai. "How are you feeling? No more fainting issues?"

Lorelai shook her head. "Nope, I've been doing good staying upright."

"Good, good," Dr. Palmer said. "Any back pain, stomach pain, anything I should know about?"

Lorelai shrugged. "Not really."

"Have you felt any movement yet?" Dr. Palmer asked.

Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Yeah, a few times over the past week or two."

"Not every day, though," Luke added. "That's normal, right?"

"Yes, that's normal for this stage," Dr. Palmer confirmed. "The movement will become more frequent over the next few weeks." She put the clipboard down and clasped her hands together. "Okay, I'm gonna look you over, and then the technician, Marla, will come in and do your ultrasound, and I'll be back in to discuss it."

"Okay," Lorelai replied.

Dr. Palmer looked from Luke to Lorelai. "Have you decided if you wanna know the sex? I remember you didn't find out with the last pregnancy."

They both nodded. "Yes, we want to know this time," Lorelai confirmed.

Dr. Palmer smiled. "Okay. We may be able to see that today if baby cooperates."

The doctor examined Lorelai, and then she left the room. They waited a few minutes for the technician to come in, and then the ultrasound was started.

Luke held Lorelai's hand as they both stared intently at the baby's image on the screen. When they heard the swishing of the baby's heartbeat, Lorelai looked at Luke with a wide smile as happy tears formed in her eyes.

"I love that sound," she said.

Luke squeezed her hand. "Me, too."

They both looked back at the screen as Marla moved the paddle around Lorelai's abdomen. "Are you able to tell the sex?" Lorelai asked.

Marla smiled at them. "Looks like the baby is giving us a pretty good view. Dr. Palmer will confirm it for you."

Lorelai's heart started to race a little and she smiled. "Okay." She looked at Luke and raised an eyebrow. "We came in here with an 'it' and we're leaving with a 'he' or 'she.'"

Luke smiled and nodded. "Yup."

Marla finished up the ultrasound and left them alone to wait for the doctor, which she said would probably be in about ten minutes. Lorelai was sitting up on the exam table, her legs hanging over the side, and Luke was standing behind her gently rubbing her shoulders.

"How're you feeling?" Luke asked.

Lorelai glanced back at him over her shoulder. "Weirdly nervous," she admitted.

"Me, too."

Lorelai looked down at the sonogram in her hand. "What do you think? Can you tell?"

"Well, it kind of looks like Josh's did," Luke remarked. "But I can never tell what anything is in these pictures, anyway."

"It would be cute to have another boy and they'd be super close in age and bond over the same things and be best friends," Lorelai said.

"Or they'd hate each other and rip each other's heads off," Luke offered.

"Or that," Lorelai agreed.

"Or a girl would be cute because Josh could be like this protective older brother and take care of her," Luke said. "You know, protect her if someone's picking on her."

Lorelai pointedly cleared her throat. "Ahem. Or _she_ could end up being the protective _little_ sister and take care of _him_ , and also kick his ass when he gets out of line."

"That, too," Luke agreed, smiling. "And probably a likely possibility with your genes."

"I take that as a compliment, so thank you," Lorelai said.

The door opened and the doctor walked into the room. "I'm back," she greeted them, smiling. "Marla says everything went well?"

Lorelai nodded. "Yup, all good here."

"Good, good," Dr. Palmer said. "I reviewed the images, everything looks normal. I don't see anything that's a cause for concern at this point."

"But you're going to be monitoring things closely because of my age," Lorelai interjected. "Go ahead, you can say it, I'm used to the speech."

Dr. Palmer smiled. "Yes, we will keep a close eye on things as a precaution."

"Am I your first patient to have a kid at ages 35 _and_ 36?" Lorelai asked curiously. "That's gotta be some kind of record."

"It's a unique situation, for sure," Dr. Palmer confirmed with a nod, and then she looked from Lorelai to Luke. "So, do you still want to know what you're having? Because we did have a pretty good view."

"Ooh, good job posing for the camera, kid," Lorelai said as she patted her stomach, and then she looked at Luke. "You ready to find out? Last chance to change your mind. Once you hear the news, you can't un-hear it."

Luke nodded and reached for her hand. "I'm ready."

Lorelai looked at Dr. Palmer. "Yes, we wanna know."

"Okay." Dr. Palmer looked down at the sonogram on her clipboard, and then smiled at them. "It's a girl."

Lorelai's eyes widened and her lips curved into a smile. "It's a girl?" She looked at Luke. "It's a girl."

Luke was smiling, and his eyes were lit up with both surprise and happiness. "Wow." He shook his head slightly. "Wow." He leaned in to kiss her and squeezed her hand. "We're having a girl," he said softly.

"We're having a girl," she whispered, smiling brightly.

. . . . .

. . . . .

 **To be continued...**

 **Author's Note:** Thanks so much for reading! Wishing everyone a great holiday season and a happy new year! I'll be back with more updates in 2020. :)


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

. . . . .

. . . . .

It was the first Tuesday of November. Lorelai was sitting with Josh on the floor of the living room surrounded by a circle of wooden train tracks. Lorelai handed Josh a train car, watched him delicately line it up on the track behind the other train cars, and then handed him another one. "Here you go, dude. Good job."

When Luke arrived home from work, they were still on the floor playing with trains. "Hey," he said as he walked into the living room.

"Hi." Lorelai smiled up at him. "Welcome to Grand Central Station."

Luke smiled. "Nice track you guys built."

"Thank you," Lorelai replied. "I don't wanna throw anyone under the bus, but one of us put a lot more effort into the construction of said track than the other one did." She subtly nodded toward Josh. "This guy - not a great engineer."

" _Yet_ ," Luke emphasized. "He just needs some practice."

Lorelai suddenly gasped. "Oh, but look what he finally learned," she said, and she held up a train in front of Josh. "Tell Daddy what a train sounds like, Josh... how's the train go?" She leaned in closer and whispered, "Tell Daddy _choo choo_."

Josh excitedly said, "Too!"

Luke grinned. "Good job, buddy."

Lorelai smiled and rubbed Josh on the back. "Good boy." She reached out her hands toward Luke. "Can you help me up? I really have to go to the bathroom."

Luke helped her stand up, and she groaned and rubbed her back. "You okay?" he asked. "Is your back still hurting?"

"A little bit," Lorelai replied, and she leaned in to kiss him. "How was work?"

"It was fine," Luke replied. "Eric came in with Jenna for dinner. He and I are gonna meet up for a drink one night when Kelly gets back from her business trip."

"Oh, good," Lorelai said, smiling. "You guys haven't had a man-date in a while."

Luke rolled his eyes. "Please don't call it that."

"Sorry. Make sure you have an extra drink for me."

"Will do." Luke sat down on the couch and rested his hands on his knees. "In other news, I found out that my sister's coming to town next week."

"Oh, yeah? Any special reason or just a random visit?"

He looked up at her, exhaled a sigh, and forced himself to smile as he replied, "She wants to find a house to live in during the off-season when they're not traveling with the renaissance circuit."

Lorelai's eyes widened. "Seriously? Wow. That's big news."

"Yup." Luke sighed and shook his head. "Big news. Big freaking news."

Lorelai hesitated for a moment. "Okay, I can see you don't look overly thrilled, so I want to be supportive and listen to whatever rant you have brewing..." She looked toward the bathroom and then back at Luke with a grimace. "But first, I really need to go."

Luke smirked and waved her toward the bathroom. "Go ahead... I'll wait."

"Be right back."

Lorelai headed out of the room, and Luke slid down onto the floor to play trains with Josh. Lorelai returned to the room, and grabbed some leftover Halloween candy from a bowl on the desk before she sat down on the couch.

"Okay, let me have it," Lorelai said as she started opening a piece of chocolate. "Tell me why you don't want your sister moving here."

Luke looked up at her from the floor. "Would you want your parents moving here?"

"Okay, enough said," Lorelai replied, and casually popped the piece of candy into her mouth.

Josh had abandoned the train track and was now lining up his trains in front of the staircase. He seemed to be okay working on it alone, so Luke stood up and sat next to Lorelai on the couch.

Lorelai rubbed his leg. "Talk to me."

"It's not that I don't want them moving here," Luke said. "You know I love my sister."

"Yes, I know."

"I love her, I'm her family, I'm always gonna be there for her," Luke continued.

"But..." Lorelai prompted him.

"But if she moves back here, I just worry that she's gonna go back to always depending on me for everything, to fix all her problems," Luke explained. "And you and I are gonna be juggling two young kids soon over here... I think my free time's gonna be spoken for without adding another dependent."

"Well, she has a husband now, a partner," Lorelai pointed out. "You're not the one who needs to rescue her anymore."

Luke rolled his eyes. "Please. Who do you think is gonna have to rescue them _both_ when he fails trying to rescue _her_?"

Lorelai shrugged. "Maybe she's not going to need rescuing. She's different than she used to be, Luke. You've said it yourself, she's more responsible now."

"Yeah, I know, I just... I'm preparing for the worst."

"Well, if the worst comes to fruition, we'll deal with it then. Otherwise, think about how it might be nice to have some family around," Lorelai said. "It'll be good for our kids to get to know them, you know?"

"Yeah, I guess," he reluctantly agreed.

"Does Jess know about this whole thing?"

"Yeah, he's the one that told me. Liz called him this morning to let him know she'd be in town next week."

"What are his thoughts on this?"

"He seemed indifferent," Luke replied with a shrug. "I think as long as she still gives him his space and he still gets to be independent and live on his own and doesn't have his mom and TJ in his face all the time, he probably doesn't care."

"Good, so hopefully it'll be good for everyone," Lorelai said.

"Yeah, hopefully." Switching topics, Luke patted her leg and said, "Oh, hey, I was thinking... what about going to Sniffy's for dinner tonight? We haven't been there in a few weeks, I'm sure Maisie and Buddy would like to see us and Josh."

Lorelai smiled. "Yeah, that sounds good. Maybe we can stop at the store on the way, I have to pick up a present for Davey's birthday party this weekend."

Luke made a face. "Shopping, really? Ugh."

"I can just run in real quick, you can stay in the car with the boy," Lorelai suggested. "Sookie gave me some ideas of what to get, so it'll be fast."

Luke rolled his eyes. "Right. And in between picking out that fast present for Davey and walking back to the register, you'll pick up 17 things you don't need, and 2 hours later, come out with an entire shopping cart full of stuff."

Lorelai giggled. "Okay, yes, there _is_ precedent for that, so I have no argument, but I promise you this time I will be in and out. That's why we'll go _before_ dinner, because if I'm hungry, I'm gonna wanna hurry to get to the restaurant."

"All right, fine, but I'm setting a timer for 10 minutes. You go over that, no foot massage tonight."

Lorelai gasped. "Luke Danes, you wouldn't dare deprive your _pregnant_ _wife_ of her end of day massage, would you?"

Luke hesitated a moment before admitting, "Okay, probably not."

Lorelai smirked. "You know, this is probably a good time to remind you that positive reinforcement works better than negative. You should practice that now, it'll come in handy with the kids."

"So I should treat you like a kid?" he joked.

Lorelai leaned in close to him and breathily whispered, "Well, you do like when I call you _Daddy_ in this voice."

Luke smirked and shook his head. "No, I don't, stop it. It's creepy now."

Lorelai smiled. "Back to the point... positive reinforcement. Like maybe instead of a negative result if I'm late, how about a positive result if I'm early? Like if I make it back in under 15 minutes, I get an extra special massage. And yes, we're going with 15 minutes, not 10 as you originally suggested." She pointed to her stomach. "Baby living inside me means slower walking and more time needed."

"All right, fine. Under 15 minutes means an extra long massage tonight, okay?"

Lorelai smiled and leaned in to kiss him. "Thatta boy." She stood up from the couch. "I'll get him ready to go."

. . . . .

. . . . .

A few weeks later, at Friday night dinner, Lorelai and Rory were sitting across from Emily and Richard in the living room while Luke patiently followed Josh around the room.

Lorelai had her hands on her stomach. "She's kicking again. This little girl is so active, I can't even tell you," she said, shaking her head. "She's always moving around and I'm like, come on, take a nap or find some other hobby that does not include constantly kicking my bladder."

"Does it hurt?" Rory asked.

"No, just makes me have to pee every 15 minutes," Lorelai replied.

"Lorelai, please, that's not appropriate," Emily scolded her.

"Oh, sorry... it makes me have to pee every _quarter of an hour_ ," Lorelai corrected herself in a British accent, and then raised an eyebrow. "How was that, Mom... proper enough for you?"

Emily rolled her eyes and took a sip of her drink. Before she could respond, they heard a banging noise, and they all turned toward it. Josh was slapping both hands on the sliding glass door.

"It appears someone wants to go outside," Richard observed.

"Yeah, someone who doesn't realize it's 30 degrees out there," Luke said, and he picked up Josh. "Not now, buddy... it's dark and cold out. Come on, let's go see what toys you have."

Luke rummaged in the diaper bag and pulled out some toys, and got Josh settled on the floor with them before sitting down in the armchair beside him.

Lorelai noticed a different vase on the mantle. "Is that new?" she asked, nodding toward it. "That vase."

Emily and Richard both turned to look at it, and Emily replied, "Well, it's new to the room, but not new to the house. It used to belong to my grandmother... my mother's mother, Kathryn."

"Aw, really?" Rory asked. "It's beautiful."

"Yes, we've had it upstairs in the hallway, but I thought I might change things up a little," Emily replied. "I remember that vase was in the living room of my grandparents' house, and it always had fresh flowers in it. My grandmother loved fresh flowers... always said they brought some more life to a house."

"As you can see, Emily has that same penchant for fresh flowers," Richard said, pointing out a few of the fresh bouquets in the room.

"Yes, I must've inherited that from my grandmother," Emily said, and she glanced wistfully at the vase. "I do miss her often, and fresh flowers make me think of her."

They continued chatting over drinks, and discussed plans for Thanksgiving the following week. When the maid announced dinner, Emily and Richard headed to the dining room. As Luke picked up Josh, Rory started cleaning up the toys on the floor.

Josh reached for Lorelai, and Luke said, "I can carry you. You're getting heavy for Mommy to carry in her condition."

Lorelai smirked. "Condition... like I have a disease." Josh whined and reached for her again, and Lorelai felt bad. "Aww, okay, come here," she said, taking him from Luke. "You know it's hard to say no to that face." She kissed him on the cheek as Josh hugged Lorelai's neck. "Let's go see what special treat Grandma made you for dinner."

Per Emily's request, Lorelai had provided a list of foods that Josh liked so Emily could make sure there was something for him to eat at Friday night dinners. And while Emily had made several disapproving remarks about the choices on the list, she'd been surprisingly accommodating in following it.

They walked to the dining room, and Lorelai put Josh in his high chair nestled between Luke and Lorelai's chairs. There was a small plate in front of him with a grilled cheese sandwich and some applesauce, and Lorelai said, "Ooh, look at what you get to have, Joshy. Looks good."

"It looks like food they'd serve at an orphanage," Emily remarked. "Or worse yet, a public school."

"The food at public school is worse than an orphanage?" Lorelai asked, shaking her head with confusion. "Have you not seen _Annie_ , Mom? They just have pots of mush... sometimes hot, sometimes cold when Miss Hannigan's in a mood."

"Do orphanages even exist anymore?" Luke wondered out loud.

"I believe the foster system has replaced the typical orphanages that were established hundreds of years ago," Richard said.

"Yes, they did," Rory agreed. "I did a paper on it last year."

Luke raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? You still have it? I'd like to read that."

"Yeah, I can track it down for you," Rory confirmed.

"Thanks."

"Boy, as fascinating as this _orphan talk_ is," Lorelai commented dryly. "Is there nothing else we can talk about?"

"Well, yes, actually, your father and I want to share some news," Emily said, glancing at Richard. "Something we're very excited about - right, Richard?"

Richard rubbed his hands together. "Yes, indeed," he replied, and then looked back and forth at the others on both sides of the table. "You might not be aware, but our 40th wedding anniversary is coming up in February."

Lorelai's eyes widened. "Wow, 40 years. I hadn't realized."

"Congratulations," Luke said.

"Yeah, that's amazing," Rory said.

"Yes, it is," Emily agreed. "And we've decided to throw a party so we can celebrate and renew our wedding vows."

"That's cool," Rory said.

"Yeah, very cool," Lorelai agreed. "But when exactly in February, guys? Because that's the month I have previous plans to expel a human from my nether region."

Emily shot her a look. "Lorelai, must you be so crude?"

"Uh, nether region is literally the least crude way I could've described it, Mother," Lorelai countered.

"You could have simply said 'give birth' instead of painting the visual," Emily pointed out.

"Okay, well, sure, I could have," Lorelai agreed with a nod. "But I do enjoy picking up a brush and painting a good visual now and then."

Emily sighed. "Anyway, yes, we did consider that February is your last month of pregnancy, but you're not due until the end of the month and the party will be in the beginning of the month, so hopefully she won't decide to make too early of an arrival."

"Yeah, hopefully, because if she makes me miss out on cake, I'm going to be very upset," Lorelai said, and she looked down at her stomach. "You hear that, little girl?"

"If that happens, I will personally bring you a piece of cake from the party to help prevent the lifelong grudge against my sister," Rory assured her.

Lorelai smiled appreciatively at her. "Thank you."

. . . . .

. . . . .

A few weeks before Christmas, the town held their annual holiday procession. Lorelai had been selected to play the "before" Mary in the procession, an honor she was very excited about. And to keep the Mary's in the family, she convinced Taylor to let Rory play the "after" Mary.

While Lorelai and Rory were at Miss Patty's getting ready, Luke was at the diner with Josh trying to stay warm. Liz and TJ, having recently closed on their newly-purchased house in Stars Hollow just a few weeks earlier, were finishing up dinner at the counter.

Liz had a pamphlet of paint colors in front of her, trying to decide on a color for their bathroom. "I think we need to go with something calm," she said to TJ.

"So, what's wrong with the red I liked?" he replied. "I find red very calming."

"Red is not calming, it's intense and in your face," Liz argued. "We need a blue or a green or a beige in there."

"Boring, boring, and boring," TJ replied.

"The bathroom's supposed to be boring," Liz said.

"You said it's supposed to be relaxing," TJ countered. "Make up your mind!"

"Boring means relaxing," Liz replied, and then she turned around to Luke sitting at the table behind them. "Luke, what color is your master bathroom?"

Luke thought for a moment. "Uh, it's got some blue, a little yellow."

Liz gasped and patted TJ on the arm. "See, blue and yellow... very calming. Let's look at the blues again."

Luke fed Josh some Goldfish crackers and tried to tune out the conversation behind him. "How're you doing?" he asked Josh. "We're gonna go see Mommy and Rory in a few minutes, okay?"

The bell on the door jingled and Sookie walked in looking for Luke. She rushed over to him, said hello to Josh, and then sat down across from Luke. "Okay, we have a few minutes alone, talk to me," Sookie said. "What's the plan?"

Sookie and Jackson were going to help Luke with a Christmas surprise for Lorelai. Luke had been telling Lorelai that they'd get the nursery furniture in January, but he'd secretly purchased the set she'd picked out and it was going to be delivered to Liz's house in the next few days.

"Okay, you'll say that Jackson's going out somewhere on Saturday night, and invite Lorelai and Rory over with the baby for one of those... whatever you guys call it," Luke said.

"A girls' night," Sookie supplied.

"Yeah, and then Jackson will come over to help me at our house. My buddy John and Benny from the construction crew are gonna help out, too. We'll pick up the furniture from Liz's house, bring it back to our place, and get it upstairs and assembled," Luke said.

"You're gonna be able to get it all done in a few hours?" Sookie asked warily.

"I think so, we have enough hands, and I think only the crib and the changing table need to be put together," Luke said.

"Don't forget to put a sheet and a blanket in the crib," Sookie reminded him. "It'll make for a better reveal than just a plain mattress."

Luke nodded. "Rory's on top of that. She also picked out a couple of toys and a lamp... she said that would make it feel more homey or something," he said with a shrug.

"Good girl," Sookie said. "How are you gonna keep Lorelai out of the room until Christmas?"

"I'm gonna tell her I'm hiding her presents in there, and I'm gonna install a lock on the door just to make sure she doesn't try to sneak a peak," Luke said.

Kirk pushed open the door to the diner and strutted inside. "Well, well, well... look who it is."

Luke narrowed his eyes and looked at Sookie. "Who's he talking to?"

Sookie shrugged. "No idea." She turned toward Kirk. "What's up, Kirk?"

Kirk walked over to their table and eyed Luke. "Wasn't enough that you had one family member in the procession, you had to have _two_ in it, huh?"

"What are you babbling about?" Luke asked as he passed Josh another goldfish.

"Lulu was in the running to play the 'after' Mary," Kirk told him. "And you ripped that dream right out of her hands. I hope you're happy with yourself."

"I had nothing to do with it, Kirk," Luke said. "If you have a problem with the procession, go talk to Taylor."

"I thought Lulu was playing an angel," Sookie said. "That's still a good gig."

"Are you kidding me?!" Kirk exclaimed. "Mary is the star of the show... she's the Lucy in _I Love Lucy_. No one else compares to Lucy! And now greedy Luke has two Lucy's in the show and I have none!"

Luke slowly stood up from his chair and folded his arms across his chest. "Kirk, it was Taylor's decision, so go take your whining to him. I wasn't involved." He pointed menacingly at Kirk as he added, "But if I find out you tried to take it out on Lorelai or Rory in any way, I'm suddenly going to _be_ involved and you're gonna wish I wasn't. Got it?"

The confidence with which Kirk had entered the diner quickly dissipated and he muttered, "Got it." He glanced toward the counter, and then back at Luke. "Do I have time for a cookie before it starts?"

Luke rolled his eyes. "Go ask Caesar. We're leaving now."

"Yeah, I see people starting to head over," Sookie said, looking out the window.

Kirk walked toward the counter, and Luke zipped up Josh's jacket and lifted him from the high chair. "Let's go, kiddo." He looked over toward the register and called, "Caesar, I'm heading out."

Caesar gave him a wave of acknowledgement. "Have fun."

"You guys coming to the procession?" Luke asked Liz and TJ.

"Yeah, we'll be right out," Liz replied.

Luke followed Sookie outside, and put Josh in his stroller parked out on the sidewalk. Luke glanced toward the group of people starting to walk over from Miss Patty's, and smiled when he saw Lorelai dressed in her costume. He hadn't been overly enthusiastic about her taking part in the event, but he did like that she was so excited about it. He could tell she was having fun.

Lorelai waved when she saw them, and as she got a little closer, she gestured to her costume. "What do you think? Spitting image of a virgin?"

Luke smiled and gave her a thumbs up. "Yup, one hundred percent."

"Looking good, honey," Sookie said. "Where's the 'after' Mary?"

Lorelai gestured behind her toward the end of the line. "She's back there somewhere."

Luke searched the crowd and spotted Rory, dressed in an identical costume as Lorelai. "Oh, yeah, I see her."

Everyone walked toward the square, and Sookie, Luke, and Josh found Jackson and Davey in the crowd and waited for the procession to begin.

After the festivities and tree lighting took place, they had hot chocolate and snacks in the square, and eventually, many people ended up at Miss Patty's studio to chat inside where it was warmer. Luke was anxious to get home, but he knew Lorelai was having fun mingling.

They had taken Josh out of his stroller, and he was walking around the studio with TJ, who had offered to watch him. Luke kept glancing over at them to make sure Josh was okay.

"He loves kids," Liz said about TJ. "And they seem to like him, too."

"It might have something to do with that... um, young personality he has," Luke said, trying to phrase it as kindly as he could.

"Yeah, he has a playful vibe, kids can sense that," Lorelai added.

"Like you," Liz replied, nodding at Lorelai. "You know, you and TJ are a lot alike."

Luke flinched a little and muttered, "Well, I wouldn't say that exactly."

"No, really, they are," Liz insisted. "Their personalities are really similar... fun and playful and laid back. It's kinda funny that you and I are attracted to that same type of person."

Luke really didn't want to think about any similarities in whom he and his sister were attracted to. "Oh, you know what, I see Andrew over there, I wanted to ask him something," he said, and excused himself from the conversation.

Lorelai knew it was a fake escape and that he needed a little breather, so she stayed chatting with Liz for a few minutes before she excused herself to go find him.

She checked on Josh and TJ first, who were now playing with Davey in the corner of the room, and then stopped to chat with Rory and Lane for a minute. When she couldn't find Luke inside, she peeked outside and saw him sitting on a bench by the back door.

"Hey, you," Lorelai called.

Luke glanced over at her. "Oh, hey."

Lorelai walked over to him, pulling her coat tighter around her, and sat down next to him on the bench. "It's freezing out here. Are you okay?" Lorelai asked him.

"Yup, just taking a break from people," Luke replied.

"Sorry, this is probably a boring night for you. I know watching that same old procession every year isn't your favorite thing to do," Lorelai said.

"I didn't mind it so much this year," he replied, smiling at her. "Not when there were some new faces in it."

Lorelai smiled. "Good."

Luke put his arm around her, and she leaned against him. "How are you feeling?" Luke asked. "You've been on your feet a lot today."

"I'm tired," she admitted. "But Josh is having fun running around in there, so I don't wanna drag him away."

Luke glanced down at his watch. "Well, it's almost his bedtime. Why don't we give it another 15 minutes and then start getting ready to go?"

"Okay," she agreed. She rested against him for a few moments, and then sat up with a shiver. "But it's too cold out here... can we spend those 15 minutes inside?"

"Yeah. We've already left him alone with TJ for too long."

Lorelai cocked her head to the side. "Speaking of which, you should try to lighten up with him."

Luke narrowed his eyes. "Lighten up how? I didn't say anything bad _to_ him or _about_ him."

"No, but it's your tone, your facial reactions," she explained. "They clearly show that you're not the guy's biggest fan. And I know he may not always be the brightest bulb, but he's nice to all of us, and he has fun playing with Josh. He's a good uncle to him. I don't know why you're still iffy on him."

"Don't you think he's just a little _much_ sometimes?" Luke asked. "When I'm around him for too long, he starts to grate on my nerves."

"First of all, when you're around _anyone_ for too long, they grate on your nerves," Lorelai pointed out with a smirk. "You're not what one would describe as a _people person_."

Luke smiled. "No, I'm not."

"But the summary is - he's a nice person, he doesn't mean any harm, he makes your sister happy, he's gonna be around a lot... so, all signs point to 'be nice.'"

"I _am_ nice," Luke replied.

Lorelai smirked. "I've seen Luke Danes be nice, and that's not what TJ's getting. You're giving him toleration at best." She squeezed his hand. "How about we start simple and try to _not_ roll your eyes at half the things he says?"

Luke exhaled a sigh and reluctantly muttered, "Fine, I'll try to be nicer."

"Thank you." They both stood up from the bench, and Lorelai leaned in and kissed him on the cheek.

Luke put his hands on her waist. "Come on, I think this favor of niceness deserves more than a kiss on the cheek in return, huh?"

Lorelai smiled slyly. She rested her hands on his chest and slowly slid them up to his neck. She pulled him closer and pressed her lips against his for a more passionate kiss. When she pulled back, she asked, "Better?"

"Mmhmm. What else you offering?"

Lorelai pretended to ponder for a moment. "Hmm, let me see... oh, I know. How about I give you another kid in two months, and a promise to _try_ not to hold any grudges against you if my body does not completely return to its previous shape and size?"

Luke smirked. "I think you said the same thing during the last pregnancy."

"Well, I'm nothing if not consistent."

"Why would I get the grudge and not the kid that came out of said body?"

"Because _you_ put the kid in there," Lorelai reminded him. "She had no choice in the matter. She's an innocent bystander here."

"Yeah, but you agreed that you _wanted_ me to put a kid in there, so I think _you_ would also be partially to blame for any issues that would result from it," he pointed out.

Lorelai wrinkled her nose as she thought it over, and then declared, "Nah." Luke smirked, took her hand, and led her toward Miss Patty's.

. . . . .

. . . . .

On Christmas Day, Josh woke up slightly before 7 and his cries alerted both of his parents through the baby monitor.

Luke stretched his arms up into the air, and then rolled toward Lorelai in the bed. He wrapped his arms around her and they exchanged groggy Christmas greetings before he murmured, "I'll get him."

"Thank you," she tiredly replied. "Bring him back in here so we can all go downstairs together."

"Okay."

Luke slowly got out of bed and headed to Josh's room. He changed his diaper, put back on his Christmas pajamas, and then brought him to the master bedroom.

"There she is," Luke whispered. "Mommy went back to sleep. Should we wake her up?"

Luke brought Josh over to his side of the bed and set him down next to Lorelai before getting back in the bed himself. Luke took Josh's hand and gently patted Lorelai's shoulder. "Merry Christmas, Mommy."

Lorelai opened her eyes and smiled. "Merry Christmas, Joshy." She pulled Josh into a hug and he rested his head on Lorelai's shoulder. "Aw, you're still sleepy, huh? Me, too. Let's snuggle."

Luke went into the bathroom while Lorelai lay with Josh. After a few minutes, Josh's morning energy kicked in and he climbed off the bed and started exploring the bedroom. Lorelai propped herself up in bed against her pillows to watch him.

Luke returned from the bathroom and stood at the foot of the bed. "You wanna take him down soon and let him see his presents?"

"Yeah, but we can't start opening until Rory's up," Lorelai said.

"We'll go start breakfast and wait for her," Luke suggested.

Lorelai nodded. "Okay." She pushed her blanket off and climbed out of bed, yawning. "Let me use the bathroom first."

Lorelai disappeared into the master bathroom for a few minutes while Luke amusedly watched Josh try to put on Luke's work boots.

When Lorelai was ready, Luke picked up Josh and he let Lorelai lead the way out of the room. As he'd hoped, the bow that he'd placed on the door to the new nursery caught her eye, and she looked back at him. "Did you do that?" she asked.

"Yup. Go check it out."

She gave him an intrigued look and walked toward the door. Luke followed behind her with Josh, and watched as Lorelai slowly turned the knob and pushed the door open.

Lorelai gasped. "Oh, my God!" The previously bare, empty room was now filled with beautiful furniture and a throw rug and a rocking chair, and she was having trouble taking it all in. Her eyes darted around the room from the doorway until Luke put his hand on her back and said, "You can go in."

Lorelai looked at him, smiling, and then stepped into the room. She walked over to the crib and ran her hand over the soft pink blanket lying on top of the pink and white crib sheet. There was a small stuffed bear in one corner of the crib, and a stuffed Hello, Kitty doll in the other.

Her smile widened as she picked up Hello, Kitty and turned to face him. "Oh, my God!" She held it up next to her face. "So cute!"

Luke smiled. "Rory said you would love that. She picked out the little things like that."

"They're adorable, I love them," she gushed, and she placed the doll back into the crib. She ran her hand along the edge of the crib, and then moved on to look at the changing table beside it. "This is exactly the set I wanted."

"I listen when you talk," Luke said, and then he shrugged and added, "Most of the time."

Lorelai smiled at him. "I'm impressed. This is amazing. When did you do this?" she asked, and then she answered herself, "Stupid question, it's the day you put the lock on the door to keep me out."

Luke smiled. "Yup."

"And I didn't even think it might actually be the room you were hiding, I just thought it was wrapped gifts you didn't want me poking into," Lorelai said.

"Good, so the surprise worked out," Luke said.

"It did," she confirmed, and she walked over and kissed him. "Hon, this is amazing... I love it, thank you."

"You're welcome."

Lorelai turned to look at the room some more, and she exhaled a few deep breaths.

Luke shut the door and put Josh down so he could wander around the room, and then asked Lorelai, "Are you okay?"

Lorelai turned to face him and waved it off nonchalantly. "Yeah, I'm good, just a little emotional. You know, hormones, hormones everywhere, nor any wine to drink."

"Emotional about the room?" Luke asked.

"Yeah," she admitted. "It's beautiful and I love it and I'm really excited about it. It just makes it all feel very real and very _soon_ , you know? She's going to be living in this room _soon_. She's gonna pop out and move in and this room will no longer be vacant. We will soon have another person in this house." She shook her head in disbelief. "It's just a lot. It's gonna be different. It's gonna be hard. It's gonna be stressful."

"I know. We knew that going into it," Luke calmly said. "It'll be fine. I'm here, we're doing this together... it's not gonna all fall on you, I promise."

"I know," she said, quickly nodding. "It's just coming up so fast."

Luke ran his hands up and down her arms. "Come here," he said, pulling her into a hug. She wrapped her arms around him and they embraced tightly for a moment, and then he pulled back to look at her.

"It might be hard, it might be stressful, but it's also going to be amazing," he said softly, his voice calm and comforting. "It'll be an adventure... a fun, crazy, chaotic, amazing adventure."

Lorelai smiled and rested her hands on his shoulders. "You're either not stressed at all about this, or you're really good at hiding it to try to keep me calm, and I love you for it."

Luke smiled and kissed her. "I love you."

Lorelai closed her eyes for a moment. As she opened them, she declared, "Okay, I'm good... I'm fine. Sorry for the impromptu Christmas Day panic. I'm gonna shake it off now and stop letting the hormones get to me."

Luke smiled. "Okay, good... let's focus on Christmas."

"Okay, focusing on Christmas'" she agreed. "Rory and I have a bet going about how many times you're gonna point out how much I spent on Josh's presents."

Luke smiled. "Nice." He glanced over at Josh, who was reaching his arm through the crib slats trying to reach the stuffed bear. "Come on, Josh... let's go downstairs."

Josh looked over at Luke, who was holding his arms out, and he gave up on trying to reach the teddy bear. He walked over to Luke and raised his arms up, and Luke lifted him up.

Luke kissed his cheek. "Let's go see that obnoxiously giant pile of presents with your name on them."

Lorelai smirked and held up one finger. "That's _one_ ," she said, and she rubbed her hands together excitedly. "I'm so gonna win this bet."

. . . . .

. . . . .

2004 came to an end, and the beginning of 2005 was hectic as the arrival of baby girl Danes quickly approached.

They stocked up on diapers and bottles and other baby necessities that they weren't able to hand down from Josh. They bought and washed various sizes of baby girl clothes to hang in her closet. They bought a new carseat and stroller, and finally got to a point where they were confident that they had all the supplies they needed.

Lorelai finally became ready to get a roomier vehicle, and they bought a Jeep Cherokee that she was adjusting to better than expected. Luke had found a potential buyer for her old Jeep, but when it came down to actually selling it, he couldn't go through with it. He knew it wasn't practical to keep it forever just because it was sentimental to her, but he also didn't want to put her through that at the end of her pregnancy when emotions were at an all time high. So for now, her old Jeep was still parked at the top of the driveway, and it made her happy just seeing it there.

. . . . .

. . . . .

In early February, Lorelai, Luke, Rory, and Mark attended Richard and Emily's vow renewal ceremony while Josh stayed home with Liz and TJ. Lorelai was comfortable with them watching Josh, but Luke was less confident in their abilities to watch him for such a long period of time. He kept calling home to check on things, and had asked some neighbors to stop by and visit throughout the day.

Before the ceremony, Lorelai and Rory were relaxing on the couch in the dressing room. Rory was dressed already, but Lorelai was waiting until the last minute to put on her dress. Emily's hairdresser Lisette was finishing her hair at the vanity, and Pierre the makeup artist had just arrived and was setting up.

"You think the guys are okay out there?" Rory asked.

"I think Mark's okay," Lorelai replied. "Luke's the one who's going to have to avoid being seduced by cousin Marilyn, so I'm a little worried for him."

"Don't worry, he can take her," Rory said.

"Lorelai, you're sure you're going to be okay standing up at the altar for the ceremony?" Emily asked for the third time that week.

"Yes, Mom," Lorelai replied. "The ceremony's only 20 minutes long, I can handle standing for that long. The question we should be asking is, can I go that long without hitting the bathroom?"

Rory smiled. "It's doubtful."

"You should get dressed," Emily said. "I don't know why you're putting it off."

"Well, that ironically brings me back to the important topic of the day, the bathroom," Lorelai replied. "I'm gonna have to go like 3 more times between now and the ceremony, and I don't want to have to keep dealing with the dress in the bathroom."

Lisette had finished Emily's hair and was packing up her things, and she asked Lorelai, "When are you due, honey?"

"The 20th," Lorelai replied. "About two more weeks."

Lisette's eyes widened. "Wow, that's soon. Are you guys all ready?"

Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Yeah, ready and waiting. Her room's all ready, her tiny clothes are all washed and put away, we're set."

Lisette smiled. "So, you know it's a girl? You have a name picked out?"

"We do," Lorelai confirmed, and she glanced from Rory to Emily. "We haven't told anyone yet, despite the intense family pressure."

Rory smirked. "I'm curious!"

"We figured the gender isn't going to be a surprise, so we might as well keep the name a surprise," Lorelai said to Lisette.

"Good plan," Lisette said, and she turned to look toward Emily. "Emily, make sure you bring pictures of that little girl the next time I see you."

"I certainly will," Emily replied from the vanity.

Lisette turned back to Lorelai. "I'm gonna take off, but good luck with everything."

"Thank you, I appreciate it," Lorelai replied.

Lisette gathered up her bags, they all exchanged goodbyes, and she left the dressing room. Pierre started working on Emily's makeup at the vanity.

Lorelai stood up from the couch, and Rory asked, "Finally putting on your dress?"

"No, I'm gonna go to the bathroom, and then I'm gonna go see how Luke's doing," Lorelai replied.

"I'll come with you," Rory said. "I wanna make sure Mark's okay."

Lorelai used the bathroom, and as she walked out, Rory stood up and said, "We'll be right back, Grandma."

"Ten minutes," Emily replied sternly. "I want her back here and changing into her dress in ten minutes."

Lorelai and Rory exchanged a smile as they walked out of the room. They wandered down the hall toward the staircase to the main floor, and Lorelai scanned the busy ball room as they headed down the stairs.

"I see them," Lorelai said to Rory, and then nodded toward the side of the room where Luke and Mark were sitting in a couple of chairs.

They started walking toward them, and when Luke saw them approaching, he jumped up from his chair. "What's wrong?" he asked concernedly. "You aren't dressed yet. Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm fine, calm down," Lorelai said, reaching out to calmly rub his shoulder. She looked at Mark. "If you haven't already noticed, this is going to be a stressful day for Luke. In addition to constantly worrying about how Josh is doing at home with Aunt Liz and Uncle TJ, he's also going to spend the entire day worrying that this party is too much excitement for me and is going to somehow initiate labor. So if you see him looking concerned about something, it's one of those two things."

Mark smiled. "Good to know."

"Well, can you blame me?" Luke asked. "You're due this month! Of course it's on my mind that you could go at any second."

Lorelai made a face. "Okay, don't say _go at any second_ , please. That sounds like death, not birth."

"Sorry."

Rory sat down next to Mark. "Anything exciting going on down here?"

"Just talking, and trying to look busy when that one lady walks by," Mark replied, and then nervously glanced around for her. "I think she went to the other room."

"Cousin Marilyn?" Lorelai asked, and then looked at Luke. "Was she hitting on you?"

"Both of us," Luke confirmed. "Apparently she isn't selective when it comes to age."

Lorelai smiled sympathetically at both of them. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay, no big deal," Luke replied. "We stuck together and fought her off."

"She said she wants both of us to save a dance for her," Mark added.

"Yeah, I didn't know there was dancing," Luke said, looking pointedly at Lorelai. "Someone failed to mention that."

Lorelai grinned. "Sorry. Must've slipped my mind."

"Sure it did," Luke replied with an unconvinced smirk.

Lorelai gestured to her stomach with both hands. "Come on, how much dancing do you really think I'm going to force you to do? I'm a million months pregnant."

They chatted for a few more minutes until they heard Emily's voice bellow from upstairs, "Lorelai, it's been ten minutes, get up here!"

Lorelai made a face. "Ugh, I have to go get dressed." She leaned in and kissed Luke on the cheek. "We'll see you in a little while."

"Okay." Luke watched as she and Rory headed up the stairs, and then he glanced at Mark. "It's gonna be a long day."

. . . . .

. . . . .

After the ceremony, everyone moved to the larger ball room down the hall.

As Rory and Mark went to find the table, Luke and Lorelai headed over to the bar. Lorelai ordered a club soda and Luke ordered a beer, and after they each sipped their drinks, Lorelai leaned in for a kiss.

It was more passionate than he'd expected, and it took him a second to realize why. Luke smiled through the kiss and pulled back. "You're trying to taste the beer."

Lorelai smiled. "No, I just like kissing you. Come here."

She leaned in for another kiss, and he obliged for a moment before laughingly pulling away. "Okay, you're cut off," he told her.

"Come on, I'm about to have two hundred people I don't know or don't like try to touch my stomach or make passive aggressive comments about how I'm awfully old to have another kid. I need _something_ to help get me through it... I need a little of your beer essence."

"You have _me_ to help you get through it," Luke told her. "You don't need alcohol."

Lorelai smiled at him, and before she could respond, she heard someone behind them call, "Lor!"

Luke and Lorelai both turned around and saw Chris walking toward them with Sherry. Lorelai had forgotten that Emily had mentioned they'd be there, and a quick glance at the surprised look on Luke's face told her he'd forgotten, too.

"Hey, you two," Lorelai greeted them. "Nice of you to come."

"It was so nice of Emily and Richard to invite us," Sherry said. "This is such a beautiful party."

"My mom's here, too," Chris added. "It was really hard to get her out of the house, but I think it'll be good for her to start socializing again."

Lorelai frowned. "Yeah, but I'm sure that's gotta be hard for her."

"Oh, right, sorry to hear about your dad," Luke added, remembering that his father had passed away only a few weeks earlier.

"Thanks," Chris replied. "It's been tough. Oh, and thanks for the fruit basket. Haven't gotten caught up on thank you notes yet."

"You're welcome," Lorelai replied, and she nodded toward the bar behind them. "You guys want a drink? Open bar."

"They have non-alcoholic things, too, right?" Sherry asked, eyeing Lorelai's drink. "I mean, I would assume that's non-alcoholic, but just asking because I'm not sure how stringent you are on the 'no drinking while pregnant' thing."

Lorelai raised an eyebrow and glanced at Luke before she replied, "Um, pretty stringent."

"If you don't count beer essence," Luke muttered under his breath just loud enough for Lorelai to hear, and she smirked and nudged him with her elbow.

"But yes, they have non-alcoholic stuff," Lorelai added, and then patted her stomach. "We're sticking with plain old club soda."

"Gotta be any day now, right?" Chris asked, eyeing her stomach.

"Your subtle attempt at telling me that I'm huge has been noted," Lorelai told him with a pointed look.

Chris laughed. "I'm just saying, I'm pretty sure I remember Rory telling me you were due in February."

"Yeah, a couple of weeks," Lorelai replied. "The 20th."

"Cool. Keep us posted." Chris put his arm around Sherry, and Lorelai noticed they shared a look before Chris turned to them and said, "Um, we have similar news to share... Sherry's actually pregnant, too."

Lorelai and Luke had the same surprised, wide-eyed reaction, and they were both quiet for a few seconds. Finally, Lorelai stammered, "Wow, that's, um... that's... wow. Congratulations!"

"Yeah, congrats," Luke echoed.

"Thank you," Sherry replied.

"Thanks," Chris replied, and then gave a quick glance around the room. "We wanted to tell Rory, too... have you seen her?"

Lorelai waved in the direction of their table. "Yeah, she's that way with her boyfriend, Mark."

Chris raised an eyebrow. "Do we like Mark?"

Lorelai nodded. "We do," she confirmed.

"Okay, we're gonna go find them," Chris said. "See you guys later."

"See ya," Lorelai said, and after Chris and Sherry had walked away, Lorelai looked at Luke and exhaled a deep breath. "Wow. Didn't see that coming."

"Yeah, that was a surprise." Luke glanced over at Chris and then muttered to Lorelai, "Think he'll be more responsible with this one than he was with his first one?"

"Well, he's not 16 this time, so I would think so."

"You were 16, too," Luke reminded her. "And you did what you had to do. You took responsibility."

Lorelai shrugged and shook her head. "I know, hon, but I definitely don't want to have this conversation right now, okay? It is what it is, let's just be happy for them and focus on our own upcoming birth."

"Okay, sorry," Luke said, and he took her hand into his and squeezed it. "Always gonna have a little residual anger about that."

"You and me both, but time and place," Lorelai said. "Let's go find some appetizers."

They wandered around looking for servers with food trays, and eventually made their way over to their table to sit down with Rory and Mark.

"Hey, guys," Lorelai said.

"Hey," Rory replied. "You just missed Dad and Sherry."

"We saw them," Lorelai confirmed. "And heard the news."

"And you were just as caught off guard as I was?" Rory asked.

"Yup," Lorelai and Luke replied in unison.

They chatted at the table for a few minutes before a young blonde man walked up behind Rory and greeted the table.

Rory turned around, and was surprised to see a face from Yale. "Logan?"

"Just wanted to say hi," Logan replied, and then he nodded toward Mark. "Mark, good to see you."

"Yeah, you, too," Mark replied. "Didn't think we'd run into anyone from school here."

"My parents are friends with Emily and Richard," Logan explained.

"Oh, I didn't realize," Rory said, still looking up at him with confusion.

"My dad wanted me to come and meet some people," Logan added.

Lorelai unsubtly cleared her throat, and Rory quickly introduced her and Luke to Logan, adding, "We work together at the Yale Daily News, all three of us. Well, not _together_ exactly, we all work on it in different areas, but we see each other there. So _together_ in a sense, but not really _together_ like we work on the same stories."

"Nice to meet you," Logan said to Luke and Lorelai, and then added to Rory and Mark, "I better get back to my table, but let's catch up later, okay?"

As he walked away, Rory looked confusedly at Mark, and then at Luke and Lorelai. "Weird, right?" she asked.

"Which part?" Lorelai asked. "That a young college student is attending a party to celebrate the anniversary of his parents' friends, or that you felt the need to over-explain what you meant by _together_?"

"That he's here," Rory replied. "It caught me off guard. I can't imagine going to some fancy party for some of Grandma's friends."

"You would if she asked you to," Lorelai pointed out. "If his parents run in the same circle as mine, then he's probably a trust fund kid and knows he needs to go along with what they want to keep the cash cow pumping milk."

"Maybe," Rory agreed.

"Do you guys like him?" Luke asked. "Was hard to tell."

"I don't mind him," Mark replied with a shrug. "His friends can be a little much, but he's okay."

"Yeah, he's fine, he's a good writer," Rory added. "I was just surprised to see him here." She glanced around the room. "If his parents are here, I'd like to meet them. His dad owns a couple of newspapers, he'd be good to network with."

"There you go, if you're gonna be forced to mingle with a bunch of people you don't know, at least you can try to get something out it," Lorelai said.

Within a few minutes, Emily and Richard entered the room to a round of applause. Richard gave a sweet speech and toast to Emily, and then they danced alone for a minute before the dance floor was opened to the guests.

Lorelai wanted to wait for a slower song, so she and Luke chatted at the table until one began. They made their way to the dance floor, and danced to two songs before heading back to the table.

"Honey, can you come with me to the ladies' room?" Lorelai asked Rory. "Because it's all the way down the hall, and if you don't come with me, Luke _will_ just to make sure I'm okay, and he'll stand outside the door like a creeper and someone will eventually call the cops."

Rory smiled and stood up. "Yeah, I'll go."

"Thank you," Luke said. "Because I definitely would've done that."

Lorelai patted his shoulder, and she and Rory headed toward the door. As they walked into the hallway, Lorelai glanced at Rory. "Okay, spill it," Lorelai said.

"Spill what?" Rory asked, confused.

"What's the deal with that Logan kid?" Lorelai asked. "You got very weird when he came over to the table."

"There's no deal with him," Rory insisted. "We see each other at the paper, that's it."

"Rory," Lorelai said, unconvinced. "There's something you're not telling me."

Rory exhaled a deep sigh and looked over at Lorelai. "How do you do that?"

"Mother's intuition. I may be very much pregnant with baby number 3, but I'm still very much in tune with baby number 1."

They stopped walking when they reached the bathroom, and stood outside the door. "There's nothing going on. I just... I see him around a lot and he's nice to me, and I... I..."

"And you think he's cute?" Lorelai asked.

"Kind of." Rory covered her face with her hands and groaned. "Am I horrible?"

Lorelai comfortingly rubbed Rory's arms. "No, you're not... look at me."

Rory slowly dropped her hands and looked at Lorelai.

"It's perfectly normal to think that other people are attractive even if you're dating someone," Lorelai said. "And it's normal to like getting attention from other people once in awhile."

"Yeah?"

"Yes. But... there's a line to look out for," Lorelai warned her. "If you start to like getting attention from other guys more than the one you're dating, then... that's a problem you need to address."

"It's not like that at all," Rory insisted. "But I do feel guilty for even thinking someone else is cute. I mean, I love Mark... we're serious, we have fun, we're committed to each other, we're in a really good place. So why is someone else suddenly catching my eye?"

Lorelai shrugged. "I don't know, honey... maybe it's just a fluke, or maybe it's not. You can't always control who you have feelings for."

"I don't have feelings for Logan!" Rory exclaimed in a whisper. "I barely know him."

"Okay, don't freak out," Lorelai said calmly. "I'm just saying, sometimes things happen that you don't expect. Just take things a day at time, see how things unfold, figure out if it's a fluke or not." She shrugged as she added, "That's all you can do." Rory nodded understandingly, and they headed into the ladies' room.

They returned to the ball room, and sat through several meal courses while chatting amongst themselves and occasionally mingling with other guests. Rory and Mark visited Logan's table, and Rory was excited to chat with his father Mitchum for a few minutes. Lorelai and Luke danced to some slow songs after dinner until the photographer needed them and Rory to pose for family pictures by the cake.

The four of them left shortly after cake was served, in two separate cars. Lorelai and Luke needed to get home to Josh, and Rory and Mark were heading back to Yale.

As they started the drive home, Lorelai said, "So... not too horrible of an evening, right?"

Luke shrugged. "I guess not. Good food. Good beer. Minimal dancing."

"And good company?" she suggested, batting her eyelashes at him.

"Good company," he agreed. "Long day, though. I wouldn't have minded if you did go into labor and get us out of there a little earlier."

Lorelai smiled and patted her stomach. "Maybe we should've danced _more_... we could've jiggled her right out on the dance floor."

Luke smirked. "Emily would've lost it."

"Lorelai Victoria Gilmore Danes, do you have _any_ idea how expensive this flooring is?!" Lorelai mimicked Emily's scolding voice. "You do _not_ just give birth wherever is most convenient for you!"

Luke snorted a laugh and he nodded. "Nailed it."

. . . . .

. . . . .

Ten days later, Luke burst through the front door of the house announcing, "I'm here, I'm home, let's go!"

Lorelai was in the living room with Babette going over a list of babysitting items. "It's okay, I'm okay," Lorelai assured him. "Calm down, we have time."

She'd called him at work just 10 minutes earlier to let him know that she was having contractions and that they needed to go to the hospital soon. Babette had just arrived to stay with Josh until Rory got to the house.

Josh had walked over to the baby gate, and was reaching his arms toward Luke. He picked him up and greeted him, and then asked Lorelai, "What can I do?"

"Can you go make him something quick for dinner?" Lorelai asked him. "He hasn't eaten yet."

"Dinner, yes, I can do that," Luke quickly replied. "Gonna go make him dinner. Something quick."

As he walked out of the room with Josh, Babette commented, "He's even cuter when he's nervous and flustered."

Lorelai smiled. "I know." She took a deep breath and looked slowly around the room, her hand resting on her stomach.

"Are you okay, honey?" Babette asked.

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah. Just thinking about how things are going to be very different when I come back to the house in a few days as compared to when I'm leaving it tonight."

Babette reached over and rubbed her arm. "We're gonna be right next door ready to help out. Whatever you need."

Lorelai smiled appreciatively and leaned in to hug her. "Thank you."

"And don't you worry about Josh," Babette said. "Morey's gonna be here soon with his keyboard and he's gonna let him go to town. That little guy loves putting his hands all over Morey's keyboard almost as much as I love Morey's hands all over me, if you know what I'm saying."

Lorelai's eyes widened and she stammered, "Uhhhh, yup, crystal clear, Babette. Literally no way to misinterpret that one."

"Okay, good," Babette replied. She gestured to the paper in Lorelai's hands. "What else you got on that list there?"

They finished going over the list, and then Lorelai added a few things about Josh's nighttime routine for Rory. Babette sat in the kitchen with Josh while he ate dinner, and Luke went upstairs to get the hospital bag they'd packed a few days earlier. There were extra outfits for himself and Lorelai, their toothbrushes and other toiletries, some newborn outfits for the baby, some snacks for the hospital stay.

He brought the bag downstairs and she looked through it, decided she wanted different snacks, and then went to the kitchen to grab some. Finally, they were ready to leave, said goodbye to Josh and Babette, and headed to the hospital.

. . . . .

. . . . .

Over the next few hours, Lorelai got settled into a hospital room, and was poked and prodded and monitored while they waited for labor to progress. Rory arrived at the house to stay with Josh, and called them every so often to check in.

It was the middle of the night when the baby decided she was ready to arrive. Luke was at Lorelai's side gripping her hand while Lorelai's doctor and the delivery nurses were busy at the foot of the bed.

Lorelai was breathing heavily and her head was resting back against the pillow. "Oh, my God," she panted breathlessly. "I feel like I was just doing this not that long ago."

Luke smiled. "Because you were." He leaned down and kissed Lorelai's head. "You're doing great. You're almost there."

"Yup, we're almost there, Lorelai," Dr. Palmer said, echoing Luke's encouragement. "If you wanna try another push, you can..."

Lorelai nodded, and after a few deep breaths, she started another concentrated push.

"That's great, Lorelai," Dr. Palmer said. "We can see the head."

Luke leaned forward to try to see it, but he wasn't able to from his angle. "Allegedly the kid has a head," he said softly to Lorelai. "No visual confirmation of that yet, so I'm not sure if she's lying to us."

Lorelai smiled at him, and for a few brief seconds, was distracted from the task at hand. She squeezed his hand and said, "I love you."

"I love you, too," he said calmly, and then he encouragingly nodded toward the foot of the bed. "You ready to find out if our daughter actually has a head?"

Lorelai smiled and nodded, and after another long push, the doctor announced, "She's out! Your little girl is here."

Exhausted, Lorelai let her head fall back against the pillow - she was panting for breath and her eyes were closed. After a few seconds, she heard the baby's first cry, and it was like music to her ears. She excitedly lifted her head to look at the baby as tears welled up in her eyes.

She watched Luke cut the umbilical cord, and they both watched the nurses clean the baby.

Luke leaned down to kiss Lorelai's cheek. "She's beautiful," he whispered. He brushed her hair away from her face as he added, "You are so amazing."

A nurse carried her toward Lorelai and gently placed the baby on Lorelai's chest. "Congratulations," the nurse said warmly.

Lorelai gasped and put her hand on the baby's back. "Oh, my God, look at her," she said, grinning up at Luke.

Luke put his hand on top of Lorelai's. "She's so tiny."

"She's perfect," Lorelai whispered, and she leaned forward to kiss the baby's head. "I love you, little girl."

"All right, you focus on her, we're gonna take care of some things down here," Dr. Palmer said, settling back into the chair at the foot of the bed.

Lorelai nodded distractedly, unable to tear her eyes from the baby, and Luke was staring at them in amazement. The image of his newborn daughter resting against his wife's freckled chest took his breath away.

Luke gently ran his hand over the baby's head. "She has a lot of hair like Josh did when he was born."

Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Yeah. I wonder if it'll get lighter like his did or if it'll stay dark." She looked up at Luke. "Do you wanna hold her?"

"In a little bit," Luke replied. "She looks pretty comfortable where she is."

The doctor finished up with Lorelai, and then took the baby for a few minutes to check her over. When the checkup was finished, she was wrapped in a blanket and handed back to Lorelai. The doctor and nurses left the room, leaving Luke and Lorelai with the baby.

Luke was sitting in a chair beside the bed, and he asked, "How are you feeling? Do you need anything?"

"I'm exhausted," she replied with a slight groan. "What time is it?"

Luke checked his watch. "Almost 4 am."

"Okay, that explains the fatigue." She rubbed her eyes and then asked, "Can you get my phone? Rory said to call right away, no matter what time it was."

Luke retrieved the phone, and then asked, "You want me to call?"

Lorelai shook her head, and then nodded toward the baby. "You should take her... get some bonding time in."

Luke put the phone down on her bedside table, and gently lifted the baby from Lorelai's chest and cradled her in his arms. Lorelai grinned at the sight. "She looks even tinier in your arms."

"I remember this from when I held Josh the first time," Luke said. "They're so light, it's like you're holding feathers."

"Yup. 8 pounds, 2 ounces of feathers," Lorelai replied, smiling.

As Luke sat back down with the baby, Lorelai called Rory to fill her in. They chatted for a few minutes, and they made plans for Rory to bring Josh to the hospital in the morning to visit their new sister.

. . . . .

. . . . .

It was almost ten when Rory arrived at the hospital with Josh. As they walked into the lobby and headed toward the reception desk, Rory saw Emily and Richard lingering nearby.

"Grandma, Grandpa," Rory greeted them, surprised. "Hey."

"Ah, there you are," Richard said. "Hello."

"Rory, hello," Emily greeted her, and saw her juggling some bags in one hand as she struggled to hold onto Josh's hand with the other. "Goodness, let us help you with that."

"Oh, thanks," Rory said, and she passed off the bags to Emily. "What are you guys doing here? I thought you weren't going to be able to make it until after lunch."

"Yes, well, your grandfather wisely decided that visiting his daughter and granddaughter in the hospital was more important than a business meeting," Emily said. "And you'd said you were going to visit at ten, so we thought we'd join you."

"We asked the receptionist if anyone else had gone up today, and she said no, so we figured you'd be here soon and decided to wait," Richard explained. "We thought you may need some help with Josh."

Emily gestured to the bags. "And we were right."

"Oh, wow, okay, thanks," Rory replied, wondering how Lorelai would feel about everyone arriving at once. "I'll just go check in at the desk. Can you watch him for a second?" Rory held out Josh's hand toward Emily. "Here Josh, go see Grandma for a minute, okay?"

Emily took Josh's hand and smiled at him. "Hello, Joshua."

"Here, he was playing with this in the car," Rory said as she pulled a toy train out of her pocket. "In case he needs a distraction."

Rory left Josh with them and walked a few feet over to the reception desk to check in. As the receptionist took her information, Rory quickly texted Lorelai to let her know they were all coming up together.

Up in the room, Lorelai was holding the baby when the phone buzzed, and she asked Luke, "Can you see who that is?" The phone had been buzzing all morning with texts and calls. Once Rory had shared the news with Babette that morning that the baby had arrived, it had spread like wildfire throughout the town.

Luke picked up the phone from the table and flipped it open to read the text. "Rory says she's here with Josh, and your parents are here, too." He looked at Lorelai. "Did we know they were all coming together?"

"No, and if it was planned, Rory would've told us sooner, so that must be a warning so we're not caught off guard," Lorelai replied.

A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door, and Lorelai called, "Come in."

The door slowly opened and Josh was the first one to walk into the room, and Lorelai grinned when she saw him. "Hi, Joshy! There's Mommy's boy."

"Hey, buddy," Luke said, walking over to get him.

Rory, Emily, and Richard filed into the room behind Josh, and everyone exchanged hellos and congratulatory greetings. The visitors set their bags down, and Luke picked up Josh and carried him over to Lorelai. Luke brought him close to Lorelai's face so she could give him a kiss, then pulled him back to show him the baby.

"This is your new sister," Lorelai said softly, shifting the baby in her arms so Josh could see her face. "You see her? Isn't she so cute?"

Josh pointed at the baby and tried to reach down to touch her face, and Luke pulled him back slightly. "No, let's not poke her eyes out on her first day," Luke said. "Can you wave hi? Wave hi to your sister."

Josh obligingly opened and closed his hand a few times in his version of a wave, and Lorelai grinned. "Good job." She reached out and ran her hand over Josh's cheek. "You're so cute."

Rory stepped up to the bed and leaned in to kiss Lorelai's cheek. "Hi, Mom. How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay, just tired, and sore, and uncomfortable, and hungry," Lorelai replied. "Other than that, I brought a human life into the world, so productive day so far."

"She's so cute," Rory gushed. "She looks so little."

"She's just a few ounces bigger than Josh was when he was born," Lorelai said. She looked at Emily and Richard standing at the foot of the bed. "Come on up, don't be shy."

Luke stepped back from the bed so that Emily and Richard could get closer to the baby.

"Oh, she's just precious," Emily said, getting her first good look of her. "Look at that angelic face, Richard."

"Angelic indeed," Richard agreed.

"Here, you can hold her if you want," Lorelai said, offering her toward Emily.

Emily happily took the baby from Lorelai and cradled her in her arms. "What's her name? Someone refused to tell us," Emily said, shooting a narrow-eyed look in Rory's direction. "Apparently, it's still a secret even after she's born."

"Sorry, Grandma. I thought Mom would wanna tell you herself," Rory replied.

"Well, then, do tell," Emily said to Lorelai. She sat down with the baby, and Richard sat beside her.

Lorelai smiled and gestured to the baby with both hands. "That little girl right there in your arms is... Olivia Kathryn Danes."

Emily's eyes widened and she looked at Lorelai. "Kathryn... like my grandmother?"

Lorelai nodded. "Yup. And that's your middle name, too, right?"

Emily was hit with a sudden wave of emotion, and she swallowed hard as she nodded. "Mmhmm."

"We thought it would be a nice way to honor your side of the family," Lorelai explained, and then she gestured between herself and Rory. "I mean, we've already got a couple of Lorelais to represent Dad's side, so it was time to hit up yours."

Emily smiled down at the baby in her arms, and then looked at Lorelai. "I think that's lovely. It's a beautiful name."

"For a beautiful girl," Richard added.

"Thank you," Lorelai replied.

"Will you call her Liv as a nickname?" Rory asked.

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, or Livvy. Or Olivia Newton-John."

"Or Olivia Benson," Rory suggested. "Ooh, or Olivia de Havilland."

"There you go, lots of nicknames," Lorelai said, smiling.

Rory started going through the tote bag she'd brought, and pulled out a thermos and a paper bag. "Okay, I don't actually know if you can have coffee right after having a baby, but I brought some from the diner just in case, and also some donuts," Rory told her.

Lorelai gasped. "Ooh, thank you... you jumped right back into the favorite daughter spot."

Rory smiled and put them on her bedside table. "I also brought your phone charger and the camera that you forgot," she said, pulling them out of the bag. "And I put some film in it."

"Thank you, I can't believe we forgot the camera," Lorelai said, shaking her head disappointedly.

"Oh, and we brought you something also," Emily said, pointing to a gift bag she'd placed on the floor. "Richard, can you hand that to Lorelai?"

Lorelai opened up the gift from her parents and gushed over the cute outfits and baby toys. Rory took some candid photos, Luke kept a close eye on Josh as he explored the room, and Emily asked Lorelai about how the delivery went.

While Lorelai was filling them in on everything, a nurse came in for a checkup. She checked Lorelai over first, and then placed the baby in the bassinet for her own checkup.

When she finished, the nurse handed the baby to Lorelai before leaving the room, and Lorelai looked over at Richard. "Dad, do you wanna hold her?"

"In a moment," Richard replied, and then he nodded toward Rory. "I think her big sister should have a turn."

Rory smiled, and then held up her hands. "Let me wash these first, I have donut powder on them." She went into the bathroom to wash her hands, and then walked back out. "Okay, so, I'm not always good at this part... picking the baby up from someone."

"I'll help you," Luke offered. "Have a seat."

Rory sat down in a chair, and Luke took the baby from Lorelai and placed her into Rory's arms. Rory smiled up at Luke. "Thanks." She looked down at the baby. "Hi there, Olivia. I'm your big sister."

Josh had started playing with his toy train on the floor, and Lorelai grimaced. "He's playing on a hospital room floor. Does this make us horrible parents?"

"I'm sure he's not the first kid to do that," Luke calmly remarked. He grabbed a baby wipe and a few more trains from the diaper bag, then picked up Josh and walked him over to the desk area next to the bathroom. Luke sat down with Josh on his lap and wiped his hands and the trains with the baby wipe.

Luke started pushing the trains around on the desk. "There you go, Josh... play with your trains up here."

Rory glanced around looking for a clock. "I have to keep an eye on the time," she said. "I skipped my morning classes, but I can't miss my 4 o'clock class."

"You have time," Luke replied, checking his watch. "It's not even 11 yet."

"Who's gonna watch him this afternoon?" Lorelai asked.

"Babette," Rory replied. "I'm gonna try to tire him out and get him to nap before she gets there, so hopefully it'll be easy for her. I'll head back to the house after my class. Lane's gonna come over to hang out and help after her shift at the diner."

"Thank you, honey," Lorelai said appreciatively. "Really, that's a huge help." Luke echoed the gratitude.

"Did you hear from Sookie?" Rory asked. "She said she was gonna call."

"Yup. She's gonna stop by this afternoon," Lorelai replied. "And I think Liz and TJ will be coming up, and then tomorrow morning, Buddy and Maisie."

After a few minutes, Rory passed the baby to Richard, who held her for a while until she started crying. Luke took her from Richard and gave her to Lorelai to feed her, and then Richard and Emily headed out.

The baby fell asleep after she ate, and Luke put her in the bassinet. Rory stayed for a little while until Josh started getting antsy, and then they got ready to leave.

Luke lifted Josh up onto the bed so Lorelai could say goodbye to him. "Be careful," Luke said calmly, holding him over Lorelai so he wasn't putting any weight on her.

Lorelai hugged him tightly and kissed his cheek. "Bye, Joshy. Mommy loves you. Be good at home."

"Can you give Mommy a kiss?" Luke asked, and Josh pressed his lips to Lorelai's cheek. "Good job."

As Luke pulled Josh away, Rory stepped in and hugged Lorelai goodbye. "Bye, Mom. Let me know if you need anything."

"You're doing enough helping out with him, thank you," Lorelai told her sincerely. "You've become quite the capable babysitter."

"I learned from the best," Rory replied, and she threw the diaper bag over her shoulder. "Ready, little brother?"

Luke kissed Josh goodbye before handing him over to Rory, and the two of them left the hospital room.

Luke walked back over to Lorelai, looking into the bassinet to check on the baby. "Still sleeping," he confirmed, and he reached for Lorelai's hand. "How are you? What can I do?"

Lorelai shook her head. "Nothing. I'm okay."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I'm gonna try to take a nap before Sookie comes," Lorelai said, and she looked over at the bassinet. "She should be asleep for a little while."

They both stared at Olivia for a few moments before Lorelai smiled at Luke and said, "I know I've said this already, but we make some damn good looking babies."

Luke smiled and nodded in agreement. "Yes, we do."

. . . . .

. . . . .

 **To be continued...**

 **Author's Note:** Hope everyone is doing well and staying healthy! Sorry for the delayed update, but much thanks to those still reading! :)


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

. . . . .

. . . . .

Lorelai and Luke brought Olivia home from the hospital two days after she was born. Over the next few days, friends and neighbors stopped by to meet the newest resident of Stars Hollow. Most generously brought gifts for the kids and meals for the family, which helped save Luke a lot of time in the kitchen.

Luke stayed home from the diner for a week to help things get settled at home. They tried to figure out a new daily routine as they merged Josh's schedule with the baby's. Rory drove home from Yale when she could to visit and spend time with the family.

They had been curious about how Josh would adjust to the baby, but he was surprisingly very open to having a new little human in the house. He would stare at her when she was sleeping just waiting for her to wake up, and would try to bring her toys to cheer her up when she was crying.

. . . . .

. . . . .

One evening in mid-March, Luke and Lorelai took the kids out in the double stroller for an after-dinner walk. They stopped to chat with neighbors along the way, and as they approached the town square, they saw some activity around the gazebo.

"Oh, cute, they're decorating for Easter," Lorelai observed.

"Yup."

"I still have to get Liv an Easter basket," Lorelai replied, and then she nodded toward the craft store where she'd bought Josh's basket the year before. "Oh, hey, let's stop in and see if they have any."

Luke pushed the stroller toward the store, and parked it out front. "You go in, I'll wait out here with them."

Lorelai held out her hand. "Do you have money? I don't have any with me."

Luke pulled his wallet from his back pocket and held it out. She started to take it, but he didn't let go. "You're only going in for a basket," he reminded her.

Lorelai nodded. "Just a basket," she confirmed, and he let go of the wallet. Then she wrinkled her nose and added, "But what if there's a _really_ good sale that would be absolutely ridiculous to turn down?"

"Then be ridiculous and turn it down," Luke replied firmly. "Go check out the baskets, then come back out." He nodded toward the baby, who had fallen asleep. "She's gonna be hungry when she wakes up, we can't be out too long."

"Fiiiine," she reluctantly agreed. "Be right back."

Lorelai went in and purchased a basket, and they started walking down the street. "Oh, I almost forgot, my mom called today," she said. "She asked if we'd be up for resuming Friday night dinners next week. Well, let me rephrase that... she didn't _ask_ so much as remind me that we went back a month after Josh was born, and that Olivia is coming up on her one-month birthday."

"And what did you say?" Luke replied.

"Well, I warned her what it's been like with two kids in the house," Lorelai said. "I told her to be prepared for lots of noise, lots of crying, and for you and I to be very distracted tending to them and trying to keep them calm. I told her we can barely keep an adult conversation going for two minutes without an interruption when they're both awake."

"And what'd she say to that?"

"She said we should come to dinner next week and see how things go," Lorelai replied, and she frowned apologetically. "I'm sorry, I was hoping to push it out further until the kids were like 4 and 5 years old so they'd be easier to manage, but she didn't really take the bait."

Luke smirked. "It's okay. We knew it was coming, and they know it's going to be different with two kids there. We'll go, we'll focus on keeping the kids happy, we'll eat, we'll go home. That's all we can really do."

"Mama!" Josh suddenly yelled with excitement from the stroller. "Mama!"

Luke stopped pushing the stroller so Lorelai could check on him. "What's up, buddy?" Lorelai asked as she squatted beside him.

Josh was pointing down the street, and Lorelai followed his gaze toward a man walking his dog. "Oh, you see a doggy?" Lorelai asked him, smiling. "You're excited, huh? You love doggies." She tapped Josh on the nose. "When you're old enough to help take care of it, maybe we'll get our own doggy."

"Not happening," Luke chimed in.

Lorelai looked up at him with a frown. "Why not?"

"Because I don't want one in the house, dogs are disgusting," Luke flatly replied.

"So are kids, but we have a couple of _those_ in the house," Lorelai pointed out, and then she ran her hand over Josh's hair. "Say bye to the doggy... say bye bye."

Josh waved toward the dog. "Good job," Lorelai said. "We'll go home and read your doggy book."

She stood up and they continued walking. "You know, we can always switch it up with the kids at Friday night dinner," she said to Luke. "If it's too much trying to juggle them both... making sure that Josh doesn't run around and break anything, or the baby doesn't spit up on some expensive fabric... we can alternate. I can take Josh one week and the baby the next, or something like that."

"Let's just see how it goes the first time," Luke said. "It would be nice to be able to do it as a family."

"So we can all suffer together?"

"Yes, exactly," he replied with a smirk. "It'll help us grow stronger as a family unit."

Lorelai smiled. "Okay. We'll see how it goes." She glanced down at the Easter basket in her hand. "Oh, this reminds me, I forgot to mention... Rory and Mark are going away the weekend after Easter to celebrate their one year anniversary."

Luke's eyes widened. "Wow, a year. That went fast."

"Yeah, and she seems happy," Lorelai said. "I had some doubts at the vow renewal when I saw how she was acting around that other Yale kid, but nothing ever came of that. She hasn't mentioned him again."

"Mark's a good kid. Where are they going?"

"She doesn't know yet," Lorelai replied. "He's surprising her, so of course she's freaking out about what to pack. She needs to be prepared for all contingencies, all possible scenarios."

"One wrong outfit and the whole weekend is gone to hell," Luke said knowingly.

"You're mocking, but exactly." Lorelai saw Jess walking out of the bookstore up ahead. "There's Jess." He had visited the house once or twice since the baby came home, but had a busy schedule with work and school, so they hadn't seen him much lately.

Jess was walking toward them and stopped when he reached them. "Hey."

"Hey, Jess," Lorelai greeted him.

"Hey," Luke said. "You just getting off work?"

"Yup. And actually, good timing." Jess leaned down to be at eye level with Josh. "I have something for this guy. Hey, Josh."

Lorelai looked surprised. "You do?"

"Yup." Jess reached into his messenger bag and pulled out a children's book. He handed it to Josh, opened it up, and pushed a button on the first page. A firetruck siren played and Josh smiled excitedly.

"Aw, look at that," Lorelai said, smiling at Josh's excitement. "What do you say, Josh? Say thank you to your favorite cousin."

Josh muttered something incoherent, and Lorelai said, "Good try." She looked at Jess. "Thank you, that's really cute."

"Sure. There's a different sound on each page," Jess explained. "They just came in today, I was stacking 'em on the shelf, thought he might like it."

"Thanks, that was nice," Luke replied.

"Sure. Sorry, didn't really see anything for her," Jess said, nodding toward Olivia.

"Oh, that's okay. They can share it," Lorelai said.

"How's school going?" Luke asked Jess. "You're in the home stretch, right?"

Lorelai gasped. "Oh, right, you're almost done, like _done_ done. We have to do something... maybe a little party?"

"No, no party," Jess replied with an eyeroll. "I'm good."

"We have to do _something_ ," Lorelai insisted. "It's an important occasion."

"What about dinner at our house with your mom and TJ and Rory?" Luke suggested. "Completely casual. We won't invite anyone else. Just a little something."

"You don't have to do that. It's not a big deal," Jess said.

"It is a big deal, Jess," Lorelai told him. "You're graduating from college."

"It's a _community_ college," Jess reminded him.

" _I_ graduated from community college," Lorelai said. "It's still a bid deal."

"Yes, it is," Luke said. "You worked hard, you earned a degree. We're proud of you."

"Yes, we are. Come on, we won't even get decorations," Lorelai promised. "It'll just be a casual dinner and dessert, that's it. You won't even be able to tell it's for your graduation, it'll be _that_ boring and vague."

Jess exhaled a deep sigh, knowing they wouldn't give up. "I guess it's the least I can let you do since you did pay for some of it," he muttered.

Lorelai playfully smacked herself on the forehead. "Oh, yeah, I forgot, we could've been laying on that 'we paid for it, let us have you over for dinner' guilt trip."

"I beat you to it," Jess said, and then he shrugged in defeat. "Fine, a small dinner at the house, that's it. I mean it."

Lorelai clapped excitedly. "Yay!"

"She gets overly excited for adults to come over," Luke explained to Jess.

"I can see that," Jess remarked, and then he nodded toward the diner. "I gotta get home. I'll see you guys."

"Okay, thanks for the book," Lorelai said. "We'll figure out a date for the dinner and run it by you."

Jess nodded, and he took a moment to give Josh a pat on his head before he started walking off.

Lorelai smiled at Luke. "He's graduating. That's exciting."

"Yeah. He's come a long way."

"Do you know what his next steps are?" Lorelai asked. "Like what kind of job he wants to get?"

Luke shook his head. "Something with writing, I guess. I'm sure he's got things he's looking into."

As they started walking home, Lorelai said, "Let's see, tonight's game plan... run the dishwasher, throw in a load of laundry because I'm running out of onesies, Josh needs a bath, Liv's gonna be hungry when she wakes up, we'll play for a little, then put 'em to bed, and then I'm gonna try to brush at least half of my teeth before collapsing onto the bathroom floor in an exhausted heap, and then you can carry me to the bed and tuck me in."

Luke nodded. "Okay, so, basically the same plan as last night, and the night before, and the night before that... got it."

Lorelai smiled at him. "Why change a routine that works, am I right?"

. . . . .

. . . . .

One afternoon toward the end of April, Luke was working at the diner when Sookie rushed in. "Luke!" she exclaimed. "Are you here?"

The customers all turned to look at her, and Luke gave a little wave from the counter. "Uh, yeah... right here, Sookie."

Sookie glanced around the crowded diner, and then nodded her head toward the outside. "Um, can I talk to you for a minute privately?" she asked.

Luke narrowed his eyes. "Uh, sure." He asked Caesar to cover for him, and he followed Sookie out onto the sidewalk. "Did Lorelai send you here to find out what I got her for her birthday? Because I'm not telling. I told her she needs to wait and find out on her birthday."

"No, no, not that, not about the birthday," Sookie quickly replied, shaking her head.

"What's up? Everything okay?"

Sookie glanced around to make sure no one was nearby, and then she said, "I was just at Weston's and I overheard some information that I don't think anyone else knows."

"What kind of information?"

Sookie leaned in closer to him and whispered, "Fran is in the hospital."

Luke's eyes widened. "Oh, my God. Is she gonna be okay?"

"I don't think so," Sookie whispered, shaking her head sadly. "There was a lawyer in there talking to the manager... Fran's second in command. They were reviewing some paperwork, sounded like they were preparing for the worst... like they were signing over the bakery."

"Oh, boy," Luke said with a dejected sigh. "That's tough. Poor Fran."

"Yeah, poor Fran," Sookie agreed, nodding. She stared at Luke for a moment before she added, "But this also means..."

Luke looked confused. "What?"

"This means that the Dragonfly is going to be ownerless soon," Sookie told him.

Luke's eyes widened. "Oh, right, the Dragonfly." He hadn't even realized that's why Sookie was bringing this up; he was focused on Fran herself.

"Unless of course Fran does have plans for it and that lawyer's gonna be signing it over to someone else any minute now," Sookie continued, and then she shook her head. "But I don't think so... it's been abandoned for so long, she was probably only focused on the bakery. I think it's going to be up for grabs, so maybe we can try to buy it, Lorelai and I."

"Right, right, buy it, buy the inn," Luke muttered. "You guys could buy the inn."

There was silence for a few moments as they stared at each other.

"You're thinking the same thing that I'm thinking," Sookie said to him.

"What do you think I'm thinking?" Luke asked her, eyeing her curiously.

"That this is terrible timing," Sookie said with a groan. "Lorelai is still on maternity leave, you guys are still adjusting to the new baby, it's not exactly a great time to start our own inn. Right?"

Luke exhaled a sigh. "Yeah, kind of," he admitted. "That was my first reaction. I just don't want her to get overwhelmed. She's got a lot going on."

"I know. That's why I wanted to talk to you about it before I told her. Do you think it's gonna be too much to throw this at her right now? I mean, I don't want to miss this opportunity, but I don't want to stress her out either."

Luke thought about it some more, and then he realized he was getting ahead of himself. "Actually, no, you know what? Maybe the timing's good."

"Really?" Sookie asked, surprised at how quickly he changed his tune.

"Yeah. Not knowing if you were getting that location or if you'd have to find a new one was kind of an issue hanging over you guys, right? So if the deal goes through, things might actually feel calmer," Luke said. "You don't have to start working on the inn yet, but at least you'll have the location out of the way. And she can focus on the kids and ease back into work in a few weeks, and then you two can start getting a plan together."

Sookie thought that over and then nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that makes sense. Just because we buy it now doesn't mean we need to start working on it yet." She grinned and rubbed her hands together. "Wow. This could work out." She glanced down the street in the direction of the bakery. "Now, we just have to make sure we're the ones that get the inn."

Luke nodded. "Do you know anything about the lawyer, his name or anything?"

"I'll find out," she assured him. "He's probably still in there. I'll go talk to him right now and get his number so we have it just in case." She exhaled a nervous sigh. "I'm not as good at talking people into things as Lorelai is, though."

Luke patted her on the shoulder. "You got this, Sookie. You can do it."

"I can do it," she declared. "Should we tell Lorelai about this or should we hold off?"

"Let's wait and see what happens with Fran," Luke suggested. "No need to put it on Lorelai's radar if it doesn't need to be."

"Okay, good idea," Sookie replied. "I'm going. I'll talk to you later." She started rushing down the street before Luke could even reply.

"Bye," he called after her.

. . . . .

. . . . .

The next day, the news that Fran had passed away started to make its way around town. Luke found out while he was at the diner, and he called Sookie to get an update on the situation. Sookie had successfully made arrangements with the lawyer, and Luke invited her to come over that night to tell Lorelai.

When Luke arrived home around dinner time, the baby was awake in the swing in the living room, Josh was shirtless on the floor playing with some toy cars, and Lorelai was nowhere to be found.

"Hey, buddy," Luke greeted Josh as he walked into the living room.

Josh looked up at the sound of his name, and jumped up when he saw Luke. He ran over to him and threw himself against Luke's legs. Luke lifted him up and kissed his cheek. "Hi. Are you all alone, or is your mother somewhere around here?"

Josh looked at Luke confusedly.

"You know, tall, dark hair, blue eyes, helps keep you alive," Luke clarified. "Also known as Mommy... where'd Mommy go?"

Josh glanced toward the staircase and then pointed upstairs. Luke walked over to the steps and called, "Lorelai?"

"Up here," she called back, and a few seconds later, she appeared on the stairs and started heading down toward him. "Hey. How was work?"

"It was good," Luke replied, kissing her hello when she reached him. "How's it going here?"

"It's good." Lorelai undid the gate at the bottom of the stairs and locked it behind her. "Had to get him a fresh shirt," she said, holding up one of Josh's t-shirts. "His sippy cup leaked juice all over."

"I was wondering about the bare-chested look he had going on," Luke said.

"We need to get him some clothes in the next size up," Lorelai said. "He's gonna be growing out of this size soon."

"Uh huh," Luke said unexcitedly, having realized that raising kids meant constantly buying clothes that they grow out of in a few months. He put Josh down before walking over to the swing. He leaned down to get closer to the baby, rubbing his finger over her little hand. "Hi, Liv... are you being good?"

"She's being _all right_ ," Lorelai replied. "A little boring. She really needs to work on her conversation skills... I keep asking her questions and I get nothing in return." She put Josh's t-shirt on him, and smoothed out his tasseled hair. "There you go. You wanna play with your airplane?"

"Pane," Josh replied.

"Okay, go get it, go get your airplane," Lorelai said, pointing toward the toy area. As Josh ran over to find it, there was a knock on the front door, and Lorelai called, "Come in if you're not a stranger!"

The front door opened and Sookie's voice announced, "It's me."

"Hi, Sookie," Lorelai called as she walked over to the couch. "We're in the living room."

Sookie shut the front door and walked to the living room. "Hi, guys," she greeted them as she let herself in through the baby gate.

"What brings you here on this lovely evening?" Lorelai asked, and she patted the couch cushion next to her. "Come sit."

"Oh, I was just in the neighborhood and thought I'd pop in. How are you guys?" Sookie sat down next to Lorelai, and held up a food container before setting it on the coffee table. "Brought some homemade cookies."

"Thank you. And we're good. I'm exhausted, as usual, but will keep my eyes open for you," Lorelai replied. "Only because you brought cookies."

Sookie giggled. "Thank you." She nodded her head toward Josh with a smile. "Ooh, someone got a haircut... he looks so handsome."

"He does look handsome, doesn't he?" Lorelai replied. "You would've thought we were putting him through a medieval torture device to achieve that handsomeness."

Sookie wrinkled her nose. "Still hates the barber shop, huh?"

"He cried the whole time," Lorelai confirmed. "I have no idea how the barber managed to get such a cute cut in." She patted Sookie's arm. "So, how are you? Everything okay at the inn?"

"Yeah, they're good, everything's good there." Sookie paused for a moment and glanced over at Luke, who gave her a little nod.

Lorelai noticed the exchange and narrowed her eyes. "What's going on?"

"Well, see..." Sookie started.

"Here's the thing," Luke said, walking closer to them. He stood beside the coffee table.

Lorelai glanced back and forth between them. "Are you two about to confess an affair to me or something?"

"No, not an affair," Sookie replied.

"Because this can happen after a new baby, the husband feels neglected and starts looking elsewhere for attention," Lorelai continued.

"Will you stop that," Luke said, rolling his eyes. "You know I'm not looking elsewhere for anything."

"Well, then, tell me what's going on," Lorelai said.

"Well, sweetie, you may not have heard, but... Fran died this morning," Sookie told her.

Lorelai's eyes widened and she clutched her chest with her hand. "Oh, no!" she gasped. "That's so sad."

Sookie and Luke both nodded in agreement. "Yes, it is," Sookie said. "Very sad."

"Really sad," Luke added.

Lorelai paused for a moment, looked back and forth between them, and then leaned in to whisper," Did you two have something to do with it?"

Luke's eyes widened. "What? No!"

"Well, I don't know, you're both being weird!" Lorelai exclaimed. "Tell me what's going on."

Sookie explained about how she'd heard of Fran's situation yesterday and had spoken to her lawyer. "And I talked to him again today," Sookie finished. "I told him we were very interested in buying the Dragonfly and wanted to get to him before any other offers came in."

Lorelai waited for her to continue, anxiously prompting her with, "Annnnd..."

Sookie smiled. "And he said there were no plans made for it in her will, so if the check clears, it's all ours."

Lorelai gasped. "Sookie!" She leaned in and threw her arms around her in a tight hug. "Oh, my God!"

"We are so close to owning the Dragonfly!" Sookie squealed, hugging Lorelai back. "Can you believe it?"

"No, I can't!" Lorelai pulled back from the hug and glanced over at Luke. "So, wait, you knew about this?"

"Yeah, I did," he admitted. "But we wanted to tell you together."

"We also wanted to make sure you're okay with it," Sookie hesitantly added, and then paused for a moment before asking, " _Are_ you okay with it?"

Lorelai looked at her with confusion. "Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be? This is what we wanted. I mean, not for Fran to die... God rest her soul... but the Dragonfly is what we wanted."

"Well, you have a lot going on right now," Sookie replied.

"What else do I have going on?" Lorelai asked. "I'm sitting at home every day changing diapers."

"Tsk, you are not just _sitting at home_ ," Sookie scolded her. "You just had a baby, you're raising two kids, you're gonna be transitioning back to work soon... it's a lot. You're dealing with a lot emotionally, physically..."

"Yeah, but we're just buying the inn. Buying it now doesn't mean we have to actually start working on it yet," Lorelai said. "We can sit on it for a little while, take our time with the planning before we make any big moves on it."

Sookie smiled and gestured to Luke. "That's pretty much what he said."

"Yes, well, we do think alike," Lorelai said, smiling at him.

They discussed it a little more, and then Sookie headed home. Luke started doing a wooden puzzle with Josh on the couch next to Lorelai.

"I guess I need to get some money from Trix's inn fund," Lorelai said. "I'll have to call my dad and see if he can help with that. I know it has to be approved by a lawyer or something to make sure I'm using it for the inn."

"Yeah." Luke was quiet for a moment as he helped Josh put in some puzzle shapes, and then he looked over at Lorelai. "So, I had a thought..."

"A dirty one?"

"No, a financial one." He paused a moment to watch Josh put the last piece into the puzzle. "Good job. Can you go get another one?" He pointed toward the puzzles on the floor by his toys. "Go get another puzzle."

Josh ran over to his toys, and Luke looked at Lorelai. "So, you have to use all of your grandmother's money toward the inn within three years of her death or you lose it," he said. "That gives you two more years. You'll use a little now to pay for the land, and then you'll put the rest toward remodeling and furnishing it and what not."

"Right," Lorelai said, wondering what he was getting at.

"So, hear me out, I have an idea," Luke started, and then Josh returned with a puzzle. Luke helped him dump out the pieces before he continued talking to Lorelai.

"What if we extend the life of that money a little longer," Luke suggested. "Instead of just asking the lawyers for your half of the money to buy the land, ask for all of it... take the entire cost of the land out of your grandmother's money... yours _and_ Sookie's. You can show your grandmother's lawyer the contract to prove you're spending it all on the land so he can approve it or whatever he has to do."

Lorelai looked confused. "So I pay for the whole thing? What about Sookie's half? She doesn't pay?"

"She pays _you_ , we take her half and put it in our bank account to use later for the inn," he replied. "Or we could set up a new account specifically for the inn, maybe. Then that money won't have any deadline on it, it won't need to be used by a certain date because it's not Trix's money, it's Sookie's. See? That way, you guys won't feel pressure to hurry up and use it if you're getting close to the deadline. It gives you a little bit of a buffer if you need more time. Like maybe you earmark some of that money for emergency repairs in the future or something... now you can use it whenever you need to, not when Trix wants you to."

Lorelai stared at him for a few moments in silence, running through that scenario in her head. She blinked a few times, thought some more, and then declared, "You're a genius."

Luke smirked and tipped his hat. "Thank you."

"Seriously, that is brilliant," Lorelai told him. "It's like washing money in a legal way." She paused a second and asked, "It _is_ legal, right?"

"I think so, but we can run it by your dad to see if he agrees."

"Okay. And I'll talk to Sookie about it and make sure she's okay with that. But seriously, that's a good idea, babe." She held out her hand toward him. "High five."

Luke smiled and clapped his hand against hers.

Lorelai saw Josh looking at them, and she held her hand out toward him. "High five, little man."

Josh lightly tapped Lorelai's hand, and then smiled proudly.

"Good job, buddy," Lorelai gushed, rubbing his hair. She glanced over at the swing where Olivia was starting to fuss. "Oh, your sister looks like she wants to get out. Should we go get her and play with her? Should we go get Livvy?"

Josh nodded and ran over to the swing. He glanced back at Lorelai, waiting for her to follow. "Oh, don't give me that look like I'm a slowpoke," she said as she stood up. "We don't all have your energy."

As Lorelai walked over to the swing, Luke stood up from the couch. "Okay, let me go throw something on for dinner, and then I'll help tame down some of his energy."

"Thank you."

. . . . .

. . . . .

Over the next few weeks, Lorelai's maternity leave ended and she returned to the Independence Inn. She and Luke resumed their half-day work schedules, where Luke stayed home with the kids in the mornings, and Lorelai was home in the afternoons.

The purchase of the Dragonfly was finalized, and Lorelai and Sookie officially became the owners. In May, they did a walkthrough with an inspector to get an idea of what types of repairs and upgrades would be needed, but they agreed to hold off on any inn planning until at least after the summer.

But in the middle of July, just a few days before Josh's 2nd birthday, their plans suddenly changed.

Luke and Lorelai were out front with the kids. Lorelai was sitting on the porch with Olivia to keep her out of the sun while Josh was splashing around in his small baby pool on the lawn. Luke was sitting in a lawn chair next to the pool keeping an eye on him.

"We can trade places for awhile if you want," Lorelai offered, noticing his wet clothes. "You're getting the brunt of the water damage."

Luke shrugged. "I don't mind. It'll dry off in the sun." He nodded toward the baby. "How's she doing?"

Lorelai had spread a blanket on the porch with some toys, and Olivia was sitting between Lorelai's legs to help stay upright. She was currently chewing on a cold teething ring fresh from the refrigerator.

Lorelai glanced down at her. "I think she's doing good. Haven't heard any complaints yet."

"Hey, you guys," Babette called from her front yard. She was walking toward them carrying a small brown paper bag.

"Hey, Babette," Lorelai called back.

"Hi, Babette," Luke said. "If you're feeling warm, Josh is offering free splashes to cool you down."

"I might take you up on that later," Babette replied. She handed the bag to Luke. "I was just in town and the Italian ice guy was having a 2-for-1 sale, so I picked up a couple of cups for you guys. Thought Josh might like it, and I don't know if Olivia is old enough yet, but there's two in there for you guys to share, and they threw in some plastic spoons."

"Aw, Babette, that's so nice, thank you," Lorelai said appreciatively from the porch. "And we'll pretend you did it solely for us, and not just to talk to the silver fox Italian ice guy that runs the stand."

Babette gave her a wink. "Hey, a little looking never hurt anyone, right?"

Luke snorted a laugh. "Thanks, Babette. It will not go to waste."

"You wanna come hang out with us?" Lorelai offered.

"Another time, doll," Babette replied. "Morey's got a show tonight, so we're gonna be heading to Stamford in a little while."

"Okay, have fun," Lorelai replied. "Tell him to break a leg."

"And let us know if he has any local gigs coming up," Luke added. "We haven't seen him play in awhile, might be time for a date night."

"I will let you know," Babette said. "I'll see you guys later."

They said goodbye to her as the front door opened and Rory stepped outside.

"Oh, hey there, Rory," Babette said with a wave. "And see you later, Rory." She started walking toward her house.

Rory smiled. "Hi and bye, Babette." She looked at Lorelai amusedly.

"They've got a gig to get to," Lorelai explained. "But I'm excited that someone decided to leave her writing dungeon and join outside family playtime."

"Not for long, sorry... I need to turn this article in by tomorrow," Rory said apologetically. "But as soon as it's done, I'll come hang out."

"I know, I know, the life of an intern desperately trying to impress her supervisor never stops," Lorelai said. "Babette just dropped off some water ice if you want a quick snack break." She noticed the house phone in Rory's hand. "Did someone call?"

"Yeah, Mia called for you, thus prompting me to leave the writing dungeon," Rory replied, and she handed Lorelai the phone. She stepped off the porch and went over to say hi to Josh in the pool.

Lorelai raised an eyebrow and covered the mouthpiece of the phone. "Mia's calling at home on a Sunday afternoon," she said, glancing over at Luke. "That means something's wrong, right?"

Luke shrugged. "Maybe not. Only one way to find out."

Lorelai brought the phone to her ear. "Hello?"

"There she is," Mia replied cheerfully. "How's my favorite manager doing? It's so good to hear your voice, it's been a few weeks."

"You, too, Mia," Lorelai replied. "And I'm good, how are you?"

"I'm doing fine. How's that beautiful family of yours?"

"Oh, they're good, and still beautiful," Lorelai replied, glancing around at them as she spoke. "Three healthy kids of various ages and teething levels, and one healthy, hunky, happy husband. Pardon my accidental alliteration."

"Well, I love to hear that, I'm glad you're all doing well," Mia replied. "Listen, I'm sorry to bother you on the weekend, but I have something I wanted to discuss with you."

"Should I be nervous?" Lorelai asked. "Because something tells me I should be."

"Not at all, dear," Mia replied. "Remember I told you last year that I wasn't going to consider any offers on the inn until you and Sookie were ready to start working on your own? Well, I meant that, but one has come up that I want to run by you."

Lorelai listened quietly as Mia told her about a recent offer on the Independence Inn that was not only a higher price than other offers she had gotten, but the potential buyer - an old acquaintance of hers - had expressed an interest to turn the inn into an active adult community.

"That is what made me hesitate on immediately turning down the offer," Mia finished. "This would be a huge benefit for you. You won't have another established inn to compete with for business... your inn will be the only one in town. I haven't gotten any other offers where they wanted to convert the inn to something else, so I wanted to discuss that with you first and see how you felt about it."

"Wow," was the only response Lorelai could muster after listening to Mia. She looked across the yard at Luke and Rory, who were eyeing her with interest waiting to hear what was going on. Rory was eating one of the water ice cups and sharing spoonfuls of it with Josh.

Olivia started to get a little fussy. "Hold on one second, Mia, okay?" Lorelai said into the phone, and then she set it down on the porch. She stood up with the baby and walked over to Luke and Rory, offering the baby to Luke. "Can you hold her for a few minutes while I finish this call?"

"Sure," he replied, taking Olivia from her. "What's going on?"

"Mia has an offer on the Independence Inn that might be too good for us to pass up," Lorelai replied. She rushed back over to the porch, grabbed the phone, and went into the house to concentrate on the conversation.

"Sorry, Mia," she said into the phone. "Had to hand off the baby." She took a deep breath. "Okay, so, I have to talk to Sookie, obviously, but let's just talk through the options for a minute."

"All right."

"Option A is that you pass on this offer and a better or equivalent one comes along down the line and it's happily ever after for everyone," Lorelai said. "Option B is that you pass on this offer and never get another one quite as good and you resent me forever and we all constantly ask ourselves 'what if' for the rest of our lives."

Mia chuckled into the phone. "Oh, stop that. I could never resent you. And this isn't about me... this is about you and Sookie. If you are not ready to start on the Dragonfly yet, then I don't have to take this offer. I'm fine with whatever you choose to do here."

"Well, the Dragonfly is just sitting there waiting for us to start working on it, so maybe this is a sign that it's time," Lorelai said. "I mean, option C is that you take the offer and retire, this guy turns the inn into something else, we open our own inn, and we guarantee a 100 percent share of the hospitality market in Stars Hollow... which sounds pretty amazing."

"Plus, with the extra money he's offering, it allows me to give a little more severance when we have to start letting people go," Mia added, and then she sadly exhaled into the phone. "That's going to be the tough part."

"When do you think that will be?" Lorelai asked. "Hypothetically, if you were to accept the offer, how soon would things start to happen?"

"I told him I would need at least 3 to 4 months, and he seemed open to that," Mia replied. "That'll give us time to notify the staff and let them start looking for other jobs. We have to inform our suppliers, get out of contracts with them, cancel future guest reservations... there's a lot to do. We can't just flip the switch and turn it over right away."

"Right, right," Lorelai said, nodding understandably. "So, hypothetically, we could start working on the Dragonfly construction now, and while that's going on, still work at the Independence Inn and have some income until the holidays. And then that'll close, and by then, it'll probably be time to start focusing on the interior of the Dragonfly, getting all the furniture and little décor details taken care of, which will become its own full time job anyway."

"It does sound like perfect timing," Mia remarked.

"It does," Lorelai agreed. "When do you have to let this guy know your decision?"

"A few days," Mia replied. "So, you talk to Sookie, talk to Luke, Rory, whoever else you want to weigh in on this, and let me know what you think."

"And you're definitely one hundred percent fine either way?" Lorelai asked.

"One hundred percent," Mia confirmed. "It's up to you."

Lorelai exhaled a sigh of relief. "Mia, _thank you_ for letting us have input here. You have no idea what that means to us."

"You're welcome. You ladies have done a lot for me and for the inn, this is the least I can do to repay you."

"Well, you do kind of repay us every two weeks with paychecks," Lorelai reminded her. "So that was a good start."

Mia laughed. "Oh, how I miss you, Lorelai. You go enjoy the rest of your Sunday, and say hello to the family for me."

Lorelai smiled. "I will. Bye."

"Bye."

. . . . .

. . . . .

After discussing the options with each other and their families, Lorelai and Sookie agreed it would be a good idea for Mia to accept the offer. They contacted Tom to start discussing remodeling plans for the Dragonfly, and finally in late August, the construction began.

When Luke and Lorelai arrived at a Friday night dinner in mid-September, they found both kids had fallen asleep in the backseat. Instead of waking them up and dealing with crankiness, Lorelai went inside and Luke stayed in the car with them to see if they might wake up on their own. He turned the radio to a baseball game and relaxed in the front seat, more than happy to postpone his Friday night dinner entrance.

Lorelai and Rory chatted with Emily and Richard in the living room over drinks. They discussed Rory's classes, the construction progress at the Dragonfly, and some of Emily's upcoming DAR functions. Emily mentioned that she'd received a birth announcement in the mail for Chris and Sherry's daughter who was born in August.

"Speaking of which, someone's got a big birthday coming up in a few weeks," Emily said with a smile.

"Yes, someone does," Lorelai agreed.

"Would you like anything special for dinner that Friday?" Emily asked Rory.

"Oh, um, actually Grandma," Rory started, and she glanced at Lorelai.

"We actually have to miss dinner that week, Mom, we're sorry," Lorelai finished for Rory.

"Yeah, sorry Grandma," Rory added.

Emily looked surprise. "Miss dinner the evening before Rory's birthday?" She narrowed her eyes and her tone became indignant. "Are you having a secret party that your own grandparents are not invited to?"

"No, not a party," Rory replied. "We would definitely invite you if there was a party."

"We're actually going away for the weekend, the two of us," Lorelai explained. "We've been planning her 21st birthday trip since she was little. It's really important to us, and we're going to be leaving that Friday, so that's why we won't be here for dinner."

"Well, a birthday trip sounds like a nice way to celebrate," Richard commented.

"Yes, it does, but I'm just sorry we won't see you around your birthday," Emily added. "Where are you two going? What's this big trip you've been planning?"

Lorelai and Rory shared a look, waiting for each other to volunteer the response. Lorelai finally nodded toward Rory, encouraging her to answer.

"Um... Atlantic City," Rory quickly muttered, knowing the reaction it would get.

The shock on Emily and Richard's faces was exactly what the girls were expecting. It was almost amusing, the disappointed looks that were almost bordering on disgust. Lorelai wished she could take a picture.

"Atlantic City?" Richard asked with bewilderment. "Did I hear that correctly?"

"What on earth would _possibly_ motivate you to spend your daughter's momentous birthday in New Jersey?" Emily asked, her voice dripping with disapproval at the idea. "I mean, seriously, Lorelai. _This_ is the trip you've been planning for so long?"

"Yes, because it's her 21st birthday, and you can gamble at 21, and you can drink at 21, and that's a popular place that people go to do those things," Lorelai calmly replied. "So, we came up with this plan a long time ago about how we wanted to celebrate, and now we're going to live it out, just the two of us on a fun girls' trip."

"Let us help you celebrate somewhere nicer," Richard offered to Rory. "We'll pay for a more dignified celebratory trip, you won't be disappointed."

"Yes, please," Emily agreed. "There are so many better, safer, cleaner places to -"

"We're doing Atlantic City, guys," Lorelai interrupted Emily. "You can waste your time trying to talk us out of it, or you can just move on and let us look forward to the thing we've been looking forward to for a decade. It's booked, we're going, we're excited, end of story. You wouldn't want to hinder your granddaughter's enjoyment of her 21st birthday by permanently associating it with your pure utter disappointment, would you? Don't you want to stop now before she holds that grudge against you forever?"

Richard and Emily glanced at each other, exhaling defeated sighs at the same time. "Fine," Richard muttered.

"And Luke is okay with this plan?" Emily asked. "He's fine with you two roaming around a strange city by yourselves? Wouldn't it be safer if he at least came with you?"

"Luke knows we will be extra careful, and no, he can't come because he has two babies he needs to take care of at home," Lorelai replied.

"While their mother is out gallivanting around New Jersey doing God knows what," Emily muttered.

Lorelai had her cell phone out in case Luke needed her, and she quickly picked up the phone. "Oh, look, speaking of Luke, he texted from the car that he needs me. I better go out and check on him."

"Your phone did not go off, Lorelai," Emily said through pursed lips.

"It's on silent, you didn't hear it," Lorelai said as she stood up from the couch. "Be right back." She glanced at Rory. "Tell your grandparents about that new article you're working on for the paper, honey."

Rory frowned at Lorelai for abandoning her. "Mom..."

"Don't worry, they won't berate you after I leave," Lorelai assured her. "They don't want to risk your lifelong resentment."

Lorelai headed outside to check on Luke and the kids. As he saw her approaching, he lowered the driver's window. "Hey," he greeted her.

"Hi. Any updates out here?" Lorelai asked.

"Nope, they're still asleep. What's going on in there? You've got an annoyed look on your face.'"

"They asked about Rory's birthday," Lorelai replied.

"Oh, enough said," Luke replied with a knowing nod. "You knew they wouldn't like the Atlantic City plans."

"Yes, I was correct on that front," Lorelai confirmed. "I'm sure my parents are in there right now trying to talk Rory into letting them throw her a proper birthday party."

"Probably. And you left her alone?"

"Yeah, because I knew it was gonna happen, and that Rory would be agreeable to it because she loves to please them, and it's easier for Rory if I'm not in there trying to fight it on her behalf." Lorelai exhaled a deep breath. "Oh, my mom thinks you should come with us to Atlantic City as our bodyguard."

Luke smirked. "She said that?"

"The part about you coming with us," Lorelai replied. "I added the bodyguard part myself."

"Does she want us to just leave the kids home alone?" Luke asked. "I mean, she does realize we have two others, right?"

Lorelai shrugged. "I don't think she thought that far ahead. I think she just feels it's unsafe for two women to be wandering around a city known for alcohol and gambling." She cocked her head to the side as she added, "Are _you_ worried?"

"Not really," Luke replied. "You're both smart, and you're gonna make smart choices. I don't think you're gonna be walking around completely hammered and oblivious to your surroundings."

Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "Oh, I guess you haven't heard the entire plan yet."

Luke smirked. "Don't even joke. You know I'll follow you around that town with a stroller just to keep an eye on you."

Lorelai smiled. "I know you would," she said softly, and she leaned into the car to kiss him. As she pulled back, she wondered, "Are strollers allowed in casinos?"

"Not really sure," he replied. "We'd have to look into that."

Lorelai glanced into the backseat, and then back at Luke. "And you're not concerned about being home alone with them, right?"

"Nope. We're gonna be fine," he replied confidently. "Liz and TJ are gonna stop by that Saturday and keep us company for a little while, it'll be good." He wanted to make sure she wasn't worried about anything at home. This trip was something they'd been planning for a long time and he wanted her to relax and enjoy her time with Rory.

Lorelai nodded. "Okay. I know it might be a handful. I apologize in advance."

"Don't apologize, I signed up for the parenting gig," he told her. "Plus, you had them yourself when I went camping over the summer, now it's your turn to get away for a few days."

Lorelai smiled, but before she could lean in to kiss him, she heard the front door open. She glanced toward the house and saw Emily standing in the doorway.

"Is everything all right out here?" Emily called.

"Uh, yeah, Mom, I'll be right in," Lorelai called back.

"Hurry up. We're discussing the birthday party we're going to throw Rory here at the house the week after her birthday," Emily called. "You know, to show her how to properly celebrate a milestone birthday."

Lorelai forced a smile in Emily's direction. "Sounds great, Mom."

Emily walked back inside, and Lorelai looked at Luke, who was smirking. "You called it," he said.

"Yup." Lorelai glanced at the house. "I guess I should go back in there." She looked into the backseat. "Let's give them another ten minutes and then we'll try to bring them in, and we'll hope that they wake up in refreshingly charming moods and not as angry zombie children."

Luke checked his watch. "Well, with that short a nap, my money's on the zombie children, but we'll see how it goes."

. . . . .

. . . . .

The last few months of the year seemed to fly by... it was a blur of the kids, work, town events, and holidays. Rory's 21st birthday was celebrated in Atlantic City with Lorelai, followed by an elegant party in Hartford a week later. Two weeks later was Halloween, and then the holiday season crept upon them. They spent Thanksgiving dinner at Emily and Richard's house, and Christmas day at home in pajamas.

The kids were hitting new milestones practically every week. Olivia started crawling and became more of an active playmate for Josh, who was starting to talk more. He loved trying to take care of his sister, and she loved getting attention from her big brother.

The buyer of the Independence Inn had agreed to let them stay open through the first weekend of January so they wouldn't have to cancel their holiday bookings. By then, the staff had been significantly reduced, and every day was more emotional as they neared the closing date.

Luke drove all three kids to visit Lorelai at the inn on the last day to say goodbye. There were a lot of tears as they walked around and were reminded of memories from over the years. They took some pictures, and saved some mementos from around the building. And even though the building would still be there and the memories would still be with her, it was tough for Lorelai to pull out of the parking lot that evening.

The construction on the Dragonfly had come a long way, and the site was starting to really take shape. With Trix's money, they were able to hire two interior designers to help with the planning, ordering, deliveries, and organizing.

However, since every single decision made about the inn had to go through Lorelai and Sookie, they were handling new questions all the time. Sookie took a part-time chef position to bring in some income, so she wasn't always as available as Lorelai, so that left Lorelai handling most of the business decisions. It was exhausting and chaotic at times, but she loved being so involved with everything and building the business from the ground up.

. . . . .

. . . . .

One night in late January, after they'd finally gotten both kids to sleep, Luke was in the bathroom brushing his teeth, and Lorelai was on the bed looking through her day planner. She was making a list of tasks she needed to follow up on at the inn the next day, and when she flipped back a few weeks to remember when they'd ordered the chandelier for the foyer, a realization hit her.

"Oh, my God... oh, my God," she muttered, and she double checked the planner dates, thought for a moment, and then anxiously called, "Luke!"

He stuck his head out of the bathroom. "Yeah?"

Lorelai swallowed hard before replying, "I'm late."

Luke's eyes widened. "What?"

Lorelai held up her planner. "I just realized I'm 3 days late." She sighed and dropped the book on the bed, then covered her face with her hands. "Oh, my God, she's not even a year old yet. We're the couple that has a baby every year and a half?!"

Luke walked out of the bathroom, shaking his head in disbelief. "Wait, wait, wait. How could that even happen? We're always safe."

"Not that time in the shower a few weeks ago," Lorelai reminded him pointedly.

"Yeah, but I pulled out," he countered. "I vividly remember."

Lorelai rolled her eyes and threw up her hands with a groan. "Dude, that's the first thing they teach you in sex education class - that pulling out doesn't work!"

"Okay, yes, I know that, but you're on the pill," Luke reminded her. "So we were covered either way."

Lorelai climbed off the bed because she had a sudden need to start pacing while she ranted. "Yeah, but with how busy things have been, my head has been all over the place and I'm doing things I haven't done before... like forgetting to take my pill, and so I had to double up some days, and at one point I missed a couple days in a row... I don't know what happened but it _completely_ slipped my mind, and I can't remember if that was _before_ or _after_ the shower, and I also can't remember what the rule is about missing pills..." She abruptly stopped walking and looked at him ponderingly. "How long can you go without taking one before it completely screws up the hormone pattern? Two days, three days?"

Luke shook his head with uncertainty. "Couldn't tell ya."

Lorelai exhaled a sigh. "Okay, well, I don't remember either, so we clearly need to study up on the subject."

"Okay. We'll do that." Luke was trying to stay calm and composed because she was clearly not, and one of them needed to be.

Lorelai resumed anxiously walking back and forth next to the bed. "Maybe it's a fluke... maybe I'm just randomly late, it's happened before... maybe there's nothing to worry about."

"Yeah, it's happened before," he remembered.

"But it's also possible that it's _not_ a fluke because we _were_ playing with fire when it came to the roadblocks. Accidentally on my part, but still playing with fire." She stopped in front of him and playfully smacked his chest with both hands. "God, why do you have to be so irresistible that I invite you into the shower for sex and just wing it without extra protection?!"

Luke smiled at that comment as he guided her to sit down at the edge of the bed, and then he sat down beside her. "All right, you need to take a breath. You're freaking out."

Lorelai's eyes widened. "Yeah, I'm freaking out! Luke, we have two very tiny kids that take up a lot of time and energy, and I'm trying to open a business that is also taking up a lot of time and energy, so this is not exactly the most ideal time for a pregnancy considering I do not have much time and energy left to give."

"Okay, well, maybe it's _not_ a pregnancy," he said calmly. "Like you said, maybe it's just a fluke. You're under a _lot_ of stress right now, doesn't that mess with your cycle or something? I swear I heard you say that the last time you were late... stress can cause that, right?"

Lorelai confirmed that with a nod. "Yeah, it can... and maybe that's all it is. If we didn't have partially unprotected shower sex, then I would blame the stress without a second thought. But... it's not as clear cut this time, so we just need to be prepared either way."

Luke eyed her for a moment as he realized they needed to have a deeper conversation about this topic. "Let me ask you something, and I want you to be really honest with me."

Lorelai looked at him curiously. "Okay."

"Are you freaking out about this happening _now_ just because of timing, or would you freak out about it happening at all... even in the future?"

Lorelai wasn't expecting that question, and she needed some time to consider it. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and tried to imagine the future. The fact of the matter was that she was in her late 30s, she'd had two kids in the past three years, and at this point... she couldn't picture herself having another baby.

Lorelai opened her eyes and looked at Luke. "If I'm being a hundred percent honest... I think I might be done," she said hesitantly.

Luke gave a slow nod to acknowledge her answer. "Okay."

"I mean, I love bringing half-Lorelai/half-Luke babies into the world, and if that's about to happen again, then I will love our little surprise shower-conceived baby with every fiber of my being," Lorelai told him. "But if that's not the case, then... I think I'm okay if our family doesn't grow anymore." She swallowed hard and nodded toward him. "But what about you? And be honest... don't let my answer sway yours, I wanna know what you're feeling about this."

Luke digested her response before he reached for her hand. "Let's put it this way... if I'm being honest, I wouldn't be upset if it _did_ grow, but I wouldn't be upset if it _didn't_."

Lorelai narrowed her eyes. "Really, you're fine either way?" she asked, and she tilted her head to the side. She seemed unconvinced. "You're not just saying that? Because I feel like you're just saying that."

"I'm not just saying it," he assured her. "I mean it."

"So, you don't have a longing need for more that will end up in you resenting me if we _don't_ have another?"

"Nope." He put his hand on her back and rubbed it gently. "So, if you want us to be done, then... we're done. I'm fine with that... completely fine."

"Okay." Lorelai thought for a moment, and then asked, "What do you think about maybe getting a vasectomy?"

Luke's eyes widened. He didn't see that coming, and he shifted uncomfortably beside her. "Oh, wow... uh..."

Lorelai winced apologetically. "Sorry, I didn't mean to just spring that on you. The idea just popped into my head so I blurted it out, as I am one to do with sudden thoughts."

Luke exhaled a deep breath. "A vasectomy. I mean... that's... wow."

"I know it seems like a big step, but maybe it's something worth looking into," Lorelai said. "Then we wouldn't have to worry about being 100 percent careful all the time, you know? It's going to get harder as the kids get older to juggle a million things at once, so eliminating even one worry like that could help with our sanity."

Luke understood her rationale, and he gave her a little nod. "I get it."

Lorelai reached over and squeezed his knee. "It's just a suggestion. I'm not demanding it, I'm not forcing you, I'm not going to blackmail you into it by withholding sex or anything like that. It's completely your decision, not mine. It's just something to consider."

Luke nodded understandingly. "I get it. I'll think about it."

"Okay." Lorelai slowly leaned back until her head hit the mattress. "We're gonna need to get a pregnancy test tomorrow."

Luke leaned back to lie beside her, and he reached over and squeezed her hand. "Okay."

The pregnancy test the next day was negative, but it wasn't until her cycle started the following day that she finally let herself relax about the situation. She and Luke promised each other they'd be extra careful from now on, and she reiterated that the decision to take more extreme measures in the future was up to him.

. . . . .

. . . . .

Over the next few weeks, Lorelai tried to have some semblance of a work/life balance, but it was a struggle sometimes. She focused on Luke and the kids as much as she could when she was home, but typically ended up working at night after the kids went to sleep. Sometimes Luke would help her go through catalogs to try to find perfect lamps and artwork and other furnishings for the inn.

They were still splitting the days with the kids, with Lorelai at the inn in the mornings, and Luke at the diner in the afternoons. But sometimes she needed to be at the inn in the afternoon for meetings or to check on issues, so Luke would adjust his diner shifts around her schedule.

He handled some of the tasks for Olivia's upcoming first birthday party, and took on some of the household chores that Lorelai would usually do. She was overwhelmed, and he didn't mind a little extra housework so that she could spend some extra time with the kids.

He was picking up a lot of slack and he never complained about it, and Lorelai recognized that. She thanked him constantly for all the extra help, and kept reminding him that things would get back to normal in a few months.

A few days before Olivia's first birthday, Lorelai had to drive up to Boston with the designer to look at some furniture and other decor for the inn. Luke took the day off from the diner because she wasn't going to be home in time for him to make his afternoon shift. But that was fine with him, he had plans of his own that day.

As soon as Lorelai left in the morning, Luke called Babette and asked if she could stay with the kids at the house so Luke could run some errands. He was gone for about an hour, and then spent some time working on a surprise for Lorelai.

Around lunch time, he called Lorelai to see how her day was going, and asked what time she would be home. She was still up in the Boston area, but said they would hopefully be back around 3 or 4.

Luke knew she had to go back to the Dragonfly to get her car, and would definitely check in on the construction crew. Luke called and asked Tom to let him know when Lorelai left the inn so he could be ready for her when she got home.

He got the call from Tom around 3. It took him a few minutes to get the kids bundled up, and then they went out front. The yard was covered with a fresh white snowfall from the day before. He spread a blanket on the porch to sit on, and sat the kids on his lap with another blanket draped over them for warmth.

When he heard her car pulling up, he said softly to the kids, "Who's that? Who's coming?"

"Mama," Josh said, pointing toward the car.

"That's right, Mommy's home," Luke said, bouncing him a little on his knee.

Lorelai's eyes widened as she drove up the driveway. She parked the car and climbed out of it, captivated by the sight that greeted her.

"There she is," Luke said. "Can you wave to Mommy?"

Josh waved to her, and Lorelai waved back. "Hi, babies," she called. "I missed you!"

As she walked toward the house, she was staring in awe at the giant ice skating rink that had suddenly appeared in the front yard while she was out. "What is this?" she asked with amazement.

Luke stood up with the kids and walked toward her, meeting her in front of the rink. She took Josh and hugged him. "Hi, sweet boy." She leaned in toward Olivia and kissed her cheek. "Hi, Livvy." And then she looked at Luke with a big smile. "What did you do?"

"We built you an ice rink," Luke replied, nodding toward it. "You haven't really had much time to enjoy your favorite time of year, so we thought you needed to relax and get some outdoor activities in before winter slips away from us."

Lorelai cocked her head to the side, still grinning at him. "Luke, this is amazing." She leaned in to kiss him. "I love it... thank you, hon."

He nodded toward the bench he'd set up next to the rink. "Got some ice skates for us, and something for the kids to ride in."

Lorelai looked down and saw their skates lined up beside the bench, and a little sled with steel blades and raised sides so the kids could sit safely inside to be pulled on the ice.

When Lorelai brought her gaze back to Luke, her eyes were watery. "Luke, this is so sweet and thoughtful and romantic and... just... oh, my God." Her voice trailed off as a tear rolled down her cheek.

Luke stepped closer to her and put a hand on her back. "You okay?"

Lorelai shook her head slightly, and she sat down on the bench. He sat down next to her. Josh climbed down off of Lorelai's lap and started playing in the snow in front of her.

"What's wrong?" Luke asked her, shifting the baby to his other arm.

Lorelai swallowed hard and she wiped her eyes. "Nothing's wrong, I'm just... I'm happy," she said, and then took a moment to exhale a deep breath. "I've been so busy and stressed and... I really needed this." She gestured to the ice rink. "And you _knew_ I needed this."

"Yeah, I did."

"You've been so amazing," she said appreciatively, smiling at him adoringly. "Like extra amazing on top of your usual everyday level of amazing. I mean, you jump in to help with the kids and the housework, and you don't make me feel guilty for working late at night or taking a call about the inn during dinner, and..." Lorelai took a deep breath. "The list goes on and on about how you're the most supportive husband anyone could ever have. And trust me when I say that I _know_ how lucky I am to have you." She leaned in to kiss him and then added, "Thank you... I don't know if I say that enough."

"You do, and you're welcome," Luke replied softly, leaning in for another kiss. "I love you."

"I love you," she whispered as she rested her hand on his cheek. "A lot."

Luke leaned in and they shared a deeper kiss that was suddenly interrupted by an energetic little boy.

"Mama!" Josh exclaimed. "Dada!"

Lorelai and Luke both looked at him. He had climbed into the sled and was waiting for someone to pull him. Luke smiled. "You wanna go for a ride, buddy? You have to hold your sister in there, okay?"

Luke nestled Olivia in the sled in front of Josh and wrapped Josh's arms around her. He then secured them both with the seatbelt strap. "There you go, hold her tight, okay?" Luke said, and he sat back down on the bench. "Daddy's gonna pull you as soon as he gets his skates on." He picked up Lorelai's pair and offered them to her. "Here you go."

Luke and Lorelai both changed into their skates, and then Luke lifted the sled with the kids in it and set it on the ice. He helped Lorelai step onto the rink and then he stepped onto it himself. He grabbed the rope of the sled and pulled it behind him as he started skating.

Josh started giggling as they glided on the ice. "You like that, buddy? Is that fun?" Lorelai asked him as she skated beside the sled. "Joshy loves it," she said to Luke. "Now we just have to win Livvy over."

Luke looked back over his shoulder at the kids, and smirked at Liv's confused expression. "Yeah, she doesn't seem so sure yet."

Olivia was hesitant at first with the sledding, but it only took a few minutes for her to come around. They skated in circles around the rink until the kids' bright red cheeks and noses told them it was time to head inside. Josh whined about having to leave the sled, he didn't want to stop playing on the ice.

Once inside, they changed the kids and brought them to the kitchen, settling Josh in his booster seat and Liv in the high chair. They gave them drinks and Cheerios, and once they were content with their snacks, Luke opened the refrigerator to survey dinner choices. "I'm gonna start dinner, and then you can fill me in on your trip to Boston," he said to Lorelai.

Lorelai had propped herself up on the counter beside the sink. "Okay. But can you come here first?" she asked as she beckoned Luke toward her with her finger.

He closed the fridge and walked over to her, and she was smiling as she wrapped her legs around him to hold him close to her. "Hi."

"Hey," Luke replied as he rested his hands on her thighs.

She placed her hands on his shoulders and then slid them to the back of his neck. She stroked it gently with her thumbs as she told him, "That was really fun."

"Yeah, it was," he agreed.

"It made me really happy."

"Good. That was the goal." He leaned in a little closer and added, "That's _always_ the goal."

She kissed him deeply, and then she pulled back with a smile. "I can't believe you built me an ice rink. Who even thinks to do something like that?"

Luke smirked. "My dad did it for me once when I was a kid, so you could say I stole the idea from him."

Lorelai's smile widened. "Really? Those Danes men are a thoughtful lot."

"Yeah, they are," Luke agreed, and he pushed some of her hair back away from her eyes. "I'm glad you like the rink."

"I love it." They smiled at each other for a few seconds, and then a curious expression appeared on Lorelai's face. "What's your dream?" she suddenly asked him.

"Excuse me?" Luke replied, surprised by the question.

"Like, is there something you dream about doing?" she clarified. "Something you want to accomplish someday, like me with opening an inn. Is there a goal like that you want to reach?"

Luke shrugged. "Not really. I wanted to run my own business and be my own boss, and I accomplished that."

Lorelai nodded. "Right."

"Why are you asking?"

"Because you're supporting me as I try to accomplish my dream," Lorelai replied. "And I want to do the same for you if you have something you want to do. If there's a goal or a hobby or something in the back of your head you wanna do, I want you to spend time on it and I'll be the one picking up the slack, okay?"

Luke smiled at her. "Thank you, that's a nice offer. I don't really have anything in mind, though. I'm pretty content with how things are right now."

"Well, maybe you don't have something in mind right now, but maybe you will later," Lorelai said. "One day you'll get an overwhelming desire to become a pianist or to learn French or to write a cookbook or enter a fishing competition... and I want you to tell me, okay?" She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned her forehead against his forehead. "I want to be able to support you the way you support me."

"You do support me." Luke pressed his lips to hers for a soft kiss. "But I'll let you know if I think of something specific, okay?"

"Okay." She leaned in and hugged him, and rested her chin on his shoulder. "Thanks for building me an ice rink."

"You're welcome."

Lorelai pulled back to look at him, and then nodded toward the kids. "You know, those two are never gonna let you take it down."

Luke smirked. "Guess we've got a new permanent front yard fixture."

Lorelai smiled and nodded in agreement. "Guess so."

. . . . .

. . . . .

 **To be continued...**


End file.
